¹⁶ Who will protect me from the wicked?
    Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
¹⁷ Unless the Lord had helped me,
    I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.
¹⁸ I cried out, “I am slipping!”
    but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.
¹⁹ When doubts filled my mind,
    your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

Psalm 94:16-19

Dear God, when I read this passage this morning from Psalm 94, it made me think of Elijah running from Jezebel:

³ Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. ⁴ Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”

1 Kings 19:3-4

And now, anytime I read a psalm I think of what the guy whose name escapes me now said about psalms being in three categories: orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. As I read this whole psalm, I think it falls into the disorientation category. Things aren’t good. Why aren’t they good? Why does it seem like the bad guys are winning?

But this part of the psalm, verses 16-19, give some amount of reorientation. You are saving me. You are comforting me. You showed up for Elijah in 1 Kings 19 and comforted him. You protected him. You inspired him. You guided him. You provided for him. You are amazing, God.

Father, I’m not necessarily in a time of disorientation. Maybe reorientation to some extent. I feel loved by you. I feel comforted by you. I feel guided by you. So guide me in the lives of others today. Help me to know how to bless. How to love. How to comfort. How to guide. Make me your man for others. Make me your hands and feet. Let nothing be done outside of my own self, but out of you living in and through me.

I offer this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen