Image from dailylifeverse.com
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you,so that you may be revered. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love,and with him is great power to redeem. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. (Psalm 130 NRSV)
Help, God - the bottom has fallen out of my life! Master, hear my cry for help! Listen hard! Open your ears! Listen to my cries for mercy. If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that's why you're worshiped. I pray to God - my life a prayer - and wait for what he'll say and do. My life's on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning. O Israel, wait and watch for God - with God's arrival comes love, with God's arrival comes generous redemption. No doubt about it - he'll redeem Israel, buy back Israel from captivity to sin. (Psalm 130 The Message)
Good day dear Friend. Praying that this be a day of blessing for you; as you receive, may you also give blessing after blessing, in Jesus' name!
Yesterday we visited David at one of the lowest points in his life. He lost his best friend, and he lost a king that he respected, who besides being king was his father-in-law (You know, or should know how wonderful that marriage was! You don't? Read the Book!)
David's main outlet for his feelings, both good and bad, was to write praises or petitions to God. It's a practice some of you already have, and it might be one you might want to develop as well. For now, as we reread the verses, it could be our lives that he's describing, certainly days that we've had at some point in our lives. One of those days for me was this past Monday. I was in my office in Gonzales, had just finished my sandwich lunch, when the phone rings and it's Nellie. She was crying and in obvious pain. She said she had fallen and she thought she had broken her wrist. Yikes! I left everything I was working on as it was, rushed down the stairs, shared with our business manager and our organist and her husband who were visiting the office, what had happened and that I was headed home. Praying all the time I rushed the 32.9 miles to our home in Seguin. I juggled multiple calls and ideas from our daughters, finally listening to Nellie who said our insurance card quoted the price we would pay at the ER; so to the Seguin ER we headed. A very long, tiring journey that doesn't make a good story, but shares with you that when we hit the depths as the tradition version says above, there is only One on Whom we can depend, and that is God. The modern version has the same thought, "Help, God." And help is ours when we cry out to the Lord. My continued prayer when I realized the injury to her wrist would require surgery was that her orthopedic surgeon who worked on her foot also work on her wrist. Nellie said she'd rather my not having to drive her all the way to San Antonio, that the Seguin doctor would be fine. So, we made the appointment for Monday, when the surgeon there would evaluate the needs of her wrist. Yesterday in our visit to have the stitches removed from her foot, the nurse said they were going to x-ray both the foot and the wrist as our doctor would work on both. Silently, I said, "Thank You, Lord!"
When we reach low points, it is natural to reflect on our wrongdoings and faults. We think also, "What could I have done to have prevented this?" Some think of their iniquities before the Lord. The modern version says, "As it turns out, forgiveness if your habit, and that's why you're worshiped." Indeed. At our lowest point we turn to God, who in His Highest point, forgives us and restores us. The seemingly never-ending night ends. The morning watch is over, and in God's steadfast love we rejoice; thankful for God's great power to make us new.
Dear Reader, I pray that even if you believe yourself to be at a low point, you would call out to God and allow God to lift you up. Share what you feel with God, and let God deal with it. The tears of those nights spent crying as if no hope or solution was ever going to be available will soon dry up with the joy of the morning's arrival. God is here, and has brought with Him, this new day filled with great possibilities and opportunities. Rejoice!
PRAYER: Awesome Heavenly Father, as we pray, we pray for those who are low as they read this; lift them up in a special way. We also pray for those who are soaring high; bless them with continued joys. For those who are still thinking they've done too much to turn You off, remind them of Your steadfast love (a love that never ends) and lift them up as well. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Dear one, may the joy of the Lord be your strength today!
Eradio Valverde
