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Author Archives: John D. Willome

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About John D. Willome

I post a blog of daily devotions that are my prayer journals based on scripture.

Toxic or Not? Forrest and Jenny from Forrest Gump

12 Sep

Dear God, I finished watching this video as I got ready for work this morning, and it kind of fit in with the theme of the week for me: How do we understand we are loved regardless of what we bring to the table?

Of course, I talked already this week about Fr. Mike Schmitz’s homily on “Nothing to Offer” and how we make a mistake when we avoid you when we have nothing to offer and when we come to you trying to justify our presence before you by all of the good things we’ve tried to do. No, the way to come before you is just by humbly accepting your grace.

This made me think of Jenny and Forrest as they discussed them in the Cinema Therapy video above because it really didn’t matter what Jenny brought to Forrest. She could bring her best. She could bring her worst. She could bring her physically abusive boyfriend. She could reject him. She could abandon him or ignore him. She could try to seduce him in her college dorm room. It didn’t matter. The good. The bad. He just loved her with a very simple love. He wanted to be there to protect her as much as she would let him protect her. He wanted to provide for her as much as she would let him provide for her.

I can’t help but wonder, as I sit here this morning, if this isn’t at least a glimpse of you with us. We keep orbiting you in an oblong path. Sometimes we get a little closer and enter into your gravitational pull. Sometimes we move away from you and spin out on our own. Kind of like Jenny did with Forrest. But there is a need in us that, once we’ve been introduced to you, draws us back to you time and again. And so, like Jenny, we try to bring you things. Maybe a nice pair of Nikes (in Jenny’s case). Maybe giving money to a nonprofit (in my case). And you are pleased with that like Forrest was pleased with the Nikes, but it’s not why you’re there. It’s not why you love us. You just love us because we are here.

I had a difficult, scary man in my office this week who has been arrested many, many times. He has really been on my heart this week. How do I introduce him to your love for him in a way that keeps my coworkers safe? Show me what to do in that relationship.

Last night, coworker sent me a Casting Crowns song that goes with all of this. It’s called “All Because of Mercy.”

I’ll close by praying some of the lyrics of this song: 

I could stand here and try to tell you
I found my way here on my own
Brought to life this heart of stone
Made up my own mind to change my own life
Workin' my own way to good, 
As if anybody could

But the truth is, I've been broken
Since my very first breath
And the truth is, I've been wanderin' 
Since my very first step

I know the only reason 
I can stand here unashamed
It's not because I'm worthy
It's all because of mercy
There's no way I could earn it
Praise God, my dept is paid

It's not because I'm worthy
It's all because of mercy
I still remember the day He found me
Six feet under all my cshame
I heard Him call me out by name
Hallelujah, the cross has spoken
Jesus, my Savior, bled and died
To bring this dead man back to life

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 12, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Luke 6:12-23

11 Sep

12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:

14 Simon (whom he named Peter),
Andrew (Peter’s brother),
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
15 Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Simon (who was called the zealot),
16 Judas (son of James),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

17 When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. 19 Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

“God blesses you who are poor,
    for the Kingdom of God is yours.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,
    for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
    for in due time you will laugh.

22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

Luke 6:12-23

Dear God, I’ve never pictured this before, but the beginning of this passage paints a picture of a group of people sitting there and Jesus picking among them like a team captain picking his players. I can imagine the people looking around as he made each pick. “Will it be me?” “He picked him?” “Yes! He picked me!” “Why didn’t I get picked?” I would imagine there were all kinds of things going on in everyone’s minds. It’s also interesting that Jesus did this so publicly. That he identified these 12 among everyone else. It’s not that the others stopped following at that moment. It’s just that these guys got to the next level with the Messiah.

Then they come down the hill and I can imagine the pride that those 12 felt. I can imagine it because it’s the kind of pride I would have in that moment. Looking around at everyone looking at you and thinking, “Yeah, I’m special. Did you hear about him choosing 12 special people? Yeah, that’s me. I’m in that group.”

Then Jesus starts talking and things start to take a different turn: “What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.“

Excuse me. What? People are going to hate me? But I’m a lieutenant of the Messiah. They are going to exclude me? Mock me? Curse me as evil? Well this doesn’t sound nearly as cool as I thought it would be. I mean, he’s talking about a reward waiting for me in heaven, but I really don’t want to be treated like Jeremiah and some of the others. Wow.

As for me in my life today, I must admit that I don’t suffer much for following you in my current South Central Texas culture. It’s politically correct for me to love you. Worship you. Talk about you. Yes, there are times when I see an injustice and I poke my head up with as much discernment as I can muster. And I take a risk when I do it. But for the most part, the more I wear my faith in you on my sleeve the more rewarded I am in my community. In fact, I have to be more careful about pride and ego than I do about avoiding scorn and hatred.

Father, I come this morning to eschew all of the things the world offers me and simply worship you. Yes, I do these prayers to you and publish them publicly, but it’s not for anyone who knows me. It’s so that others will be inspired to spend time in your scripture and see how it might be a good thing for them to do as well. I want them to see some of the things in scripture or music or other things that I encounter in my life to teach me and form me into your image. I want them to understand that the Bible is applicable for today. For our individual lives. I want them to see that another human, another sojourner in this world struggles through some of the same things the struggle through. I want to worship you with them in this way. They don’t know me. If they ran into me on the street, my name would mean nothing to them. That’s fine. It’s not about me. But for the small times when it is about me, when I do get proud, please help me to repent and return to the heart of worship. It’s all about you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 11, 2024 in Luke

 

Isaiah 46:5-7

10 Sep

5 “To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?
6 Some people pour out their silver and gold
    and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
    Then they bow down and worship it!
7 They carry it around on their shoulders,
    and when they set it down, it stays there.
    It can’t even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
    It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

Isaiah 46:5-7

Dear God, I love this word picture of comparing you with the idols we make for ourselves. That I make for myself.

There is a presidential debate tonight. A lot of people have made these two candidates their idols. At a minimum, they have made the defeat of one of the candidates their idol (If XX wins then everything will be terrible. XX CANNOT win!). Thinking of the gold and silver mentioned in this Isaiah passage, how many people give more money to their favored politician than you? The hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions are coming from somewhere. How many people put the bumper stickers on their cars, the flags on their houses or in their places of business (see the guy who cuts my hair who has a huge flag on the wall inside his establishment), or the signs in their yards. Do they display you as much in their lives. Do they spend as much time, or any time with you? No, we can sit and mock the Israelites for their idols, but we do the same thing. We’ve decided that the political power equals security and success. If my side wins then I will be safe and secure. Then I will be happy.

Father, I am sorry for how I allow this attitude, this idolatry, to infiltrate my own heart. Maybe it is politics. Maybe it is my kids. Maybe it is success at work. Maybe it is my marriage. I start to think that the happy heart is found in these things instead of in you. I can be happy if my kids love me in this way. I can be happy if this or that happens at work. If my political candidate wins. If my wife does this, that, or the other. But it is all foolishness. You are the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I already have it way better than I deserve. So I submit myself to you and worship you today. In this moment. You are my God. I reject the other gods that offer me false promises and empty rhetoric.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 10, 2024 in Isaiah

 

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Titus 2:1-8

09 Sep

2 As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. 2 Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience.

3 Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. 4 These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

6 In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely. 7 And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. 8 Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us.

Titus 2:1-8

Dear God, there is something so sweet and basic about these instructions to Titus, and yet following them can be elusive. Now that I’ve moved into the older crowd–especially at work–my example is important. I have a young man who works with me, and I am sure I am a wholly unique man compared with the other men he knows in his life. I hope you are able to do something positive for him through me. I have many young women who work with me. While I am not the womanly example you need them to have, I am an example. Just yesterday, I texted a sermon link to a single mom who is raising her daughter and also has responsibility in raising two younger sisters who are just a little older than her daughter but not much. It was Father Mike Schmitz’s homily from the Gospel reading yesterday in the Catholic Church. It was talking about the value each one of us has. I think it’s an important message for everyone, but in this case I wanted to share it with her and her girls. I hope it makes a difference.

Then there are those I love over whom I have very little influence whether it is due to lack of proximity or broken relationships. My prayer for them this morning is that you will raise up people in their lives who be your example to them. Give them a sense of you and who you want them to be. Love them with a father’s love. A mother’s love. Give them mentors. Show them how much you love them–how much they count–through the people you put around them.

Father, I have a lot of things to do today. A lot of tasks. But the most important one is to be your example, and then also look for examples that I myself can follow. Put Godly men and women in my path today who can teach me, encourage me, and love me with your love. That starts with my wife. Thank you for the love you show me through her and what you teach me through her. She’s amazing. You do so much for me, but it all starts with her. I am grateful.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 9, 2024 in Titus

 

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Reactions to Losing

08 Sep

Dear God, I have a weird little habit. I love college football (that’s not the weird part), but one of my favorite things to do the day after the games is go to the postgame press conferences for the coaches who lost to see what they have to say. So for yesterday’s games, I have checked out Deion Sanders (Colorado) and Joey McGuire (Texas Tech), and then I watched some reactions from a couple of people who are Notre Dame fans. Why do I do that? Why am I interested in seeing someone 1.) in pain and 2.) trying to explain that pain or their perspective on why the loss happened verbally?

I wonder if it is a “misery loves company” situation. Do I consider myself a miserable person? No. And I’m not relishing Joey McGuire’s or Deion’s pain. I like both of them. But there seems to be this communal reaction to pain that helps if it is shared by others. For the sorrows in my life, when I talk about them with others, I find that it helps them and it helps me. It makes me more human and flawed in their eyes which is usually a good thing so that people won’t think more of me than they should and feel like they have to live up to a “perfect” life they perceive me to have.

There is a line from the first season of Ted Lasso after they entire team has been through a tough loss. He says, “I promise you there is something worse out there than being sad. And that is being alone and being sad.” [Note to anyone reading: If you click that link it will be a spoiler if you haven’t seen the show]. While this scene is playing, they are running a song under it called, “You’ll never walk alone.”

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
For your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers

Father, I go through setbacks, but I don’t walk alone. First, I have a God who has literally experienced any pain I can experience through his own existence and through the human life he lived 2,000 years ago. Then you’ve given me a wife, parents, siblings, and friends to walk with. Yes, I have pain. Yes, sometimes it hurts. But I am not walking alone, and for that, I am grateful.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 8, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Colossians 1:25-27

07 Sep

25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

Colossians 1:25-27

Dear God, Jesus lives in me. This gives me assurance of sharing his glory. That’s the secret, according to Paul. That’s the secret to share with people. Everyone, everywhere.

I had a couple of interesting exchanges with two different people yesterday. One was with a woman I greatly respect and admire. The conversation rolled around to the Olympics and the little sketch that was done at the opening ceremony seemingly mocking the Leonardo DaVinci’s representation of the Last Supper, with drag queens playing the roles of Jesus and the disciples. I told her I was disappointed in the global church’s response to them. It was outrage and disdain. “How dare they?!?” But I don’t think that is how Jesus would have reacted. Basically, they were inviting a Christian response into their lives. They were hoping for outrage and disdain, and that is what they got. But what if we had taken that opportunity to say, “What a great reminder that was of what Jesus was doing the night before he gave everything for all of us, including the wonderful people in that sketch! I hope they will know that he is God and the peace they are looking for.” How might those words have touched one of them.

The other conversation is with a friend who is an atheist. I suggested he read the book I’ve talked a lot about over the last few months, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, by A.J. Jacobs. He emailed me yesterday to say he finished it. He came to a lot of the same conclusions I came to with the exception of believing in you. Maybe one day you can introduce yourself to him through me or someone else. Maybe you’ve planted a seed that will fester. Or maybe nothing will change. It certainly won’t change how much I love and care about this friend.

Father, help me to share your Good News today. I know I’ll be having dinner with some people I don’t know well, and I believe most or all of them worship you and love you. But I still want to be who you want me to be for them. I also want them to be what you want them to be for me. I am sure I have much to learn from them. From what I can tell, they are good people. So with everything I do today, help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and love my neighbor as myself. For your glory, oh Lord, not mine.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 7, 2024 in Colossians

 

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Disciples at the Last Supper – John’s Gospel

06 Sep

Dear God, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway today was Jesus’s response to Judas (not Iscariot) at the Last Supper in John’s Gospel when he asked why Jesus was only revealing himself to them and not the whole world. I thought that was a really good question on his Judas’s part. So I decided to sit down this morning and just look at what John records the disciples asking Jesus that evening to see if I can get a feel for what that confusing time must have been like for them.

It starts after the foot washing scene and Jesus’s prediction of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal when Peter says this:

36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”

And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”

37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”

John 13:36-37

Peter was, indeed, ready to go to battle for Jesus as is evidenced in John 18:10. He just wasn’t ready to go willingly to his death for Jesus without a fight. Jesus’s way was different.

In John 14, Jesus starts by telling the disciples he is leaving and they know the way, to which Thomas replies in verse 5, “No, we don’t know, Lord. We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” It’s interesting to see the confusion and the complete inability for these men who knew Jesus better than anyone to understand what was happening and get their heads around this new paradigm he was laying out.

Next, it is Philip’s turn. After Jesus tells them they will know you through him, Philip answers, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” What exactly did Philip think he was asking for there? I have to tell you, the idea of seeing you with my own eyes terrifies me. I think was Philip was saying is much like the father who wanted Jesus to heal his son and when Jesus challenged his faith said, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” I think at this point, maybe Philip and the rest were getting a little rattled and he was wanting something that would help any unbelief that was creeping in. That’s just a guess on my part, but when you put that statement in context, it makes sense.

Now we are up to what I think is a great question from Judas (not Iscariot):  “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?” On one level, he is probably wanting you to reveal yourself to the world so the world wouldn’t that they, as your disciples, were crazy. This was all weird and unprecedented. And then on another level, it’s a good question. Isn’t it time for you to reveal yourself to the world as the Messiah? Isn’t it “go-time”? Of course, I know now that the plan was for you to die and rise again–and even then you were selective about who you revealed yourself to. And it was for a reason. A resurrected Jesus in the eyes of an entire society would still have elicited a paradigm of nationalism and rebellion against Rome. But that wasn’t the plan, either before or after the crucifixion and resurrection. But it’s a good question on Judas’s part.

Judas’s question sets off, according to John, as long speech by Jesus as he tries to explain to them what they need to know, but ends with them asking in chapter 16, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? 18 And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.” This is one of the reasons I think it would have actually been difficult to hang out with Jesus on a regular basis had I been alive then. I get the feeling I would have been in a state of constant confusion. Although, I guess that’s not much different than I am feeling now and every day. I am always at least a little confused.

Finally, after Jesus gives them a little more explanation, although it doesn’t seem that much clearer to me than what he said before, they say, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. 30 Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.” Frankly, I’m not sure they really understood. I think this is one of those times when I pretend to understand something because I am tired of feeling and appearing foolish.

Father, it was fun to spend a little time with Jesus’s disciples at the Last Supper this morning. Man, they were doing their best, but they were so confused! But is it any more confused than I am at any given moment. I won’t understand what you are doing in this world until after it has happened. So my job now is to ask you to give me my direction today. Show me what to do. Show me who to love. Show me how to worship you. And lead me not into temptation, including looking at political stuff and starting to fret over an idol I am tempted to create in government, but deliver me from evil.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 6, 2024 in John

 

Luke 5:1-11

05 Sep

5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Luke 5:1-11

Dear God, I love Peter’s initial response to Jesus’s miracle in verse 8: “Oh, Lord, please leave me–I’m such a sinful man.”

I wonder if I were to give Peter truth serum that day and ask him what he considered to be the sins in his life, what he would say. Did he consider himself sinful because he hung out with other fishermen and there was bawdy talk among them? Was he not great about keeping Jewish customs? I doubt it was this one because we know he was particular about only eating kosher things his entire life up until the Cornelius story. But it might have been. Maybe he had been with prostitutes. Maybe he cheated on his taxes. Whatever it was, he thought he wasn’t even worthy of your presence. He thought he was too far gone. He thought he was a wretch and he didn’t know that amazing grace was standing right in front of him.

So if you were to walk in this room right now and be physically present with me, what would my response be? Even though I know of your grace for me in my head, would I still fall to my knees and tell you to leave because I am not worthy of you presence? Does my heart really know that I should not be afraid in your presence? And given your words of assurance to Peter that he will be fishing for people from now on, should I now be wondering about how I’m fishing for people every day?

Father, use my life. I know I have a certain set of talents. I also have a great set of weaknesses. May your strength be made perfect in my weaknesses as I lay them and my talents before your cross and ask you to direct me. Use my life to encourage someone today. At least one person. And for the person in jail who has been on my heart for the last week, please give them the breakthrough that you want them to have.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus, my Amazing Grace, and your Holy Spirit, my Counselor and Comforter,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 5, 2024 in Luke

 

Luke 4:42-44

04 Sep

42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

Luke 4:42-44

Dear God, I can’t help but wonder what happened in those isolated places Jesus would go to. How did he commune with you? Did Moses and Elijah show up sometimes? Did he just step away to get some clarity? Jesus going out to an isolated place was after an evening of healing people, rebuking demons, and keeping it under wraps that he was the Messiah.

It’s interesting that after his time alone in an isolated place he told them he was sent to “preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns.” He wasn’t just there for Capernaum. He wasn’t just there for Israel. He was there for the whole world. I can also see that if he would have stayed in any one place too long, the crowds would have gotten out of control and expected the wrong things from him. He also needed to introduce himself to enough people so that after the resurrection they would remember and join The Way.

So how does this relate to me? Well, at a minimum, I need to be getting alone in isolated places to hear from you. I need to seek your heart. I need to figure out what you want me to do with my life. And not just my vocation, but my service to others, my love for my wife, children, and extended family, and my living out my faith with you. Yes, these quiet times of intentional prayer and meditating on scripture are very important.

Father, I want to hear your, but I don’t have to hear you to make these times worthwhile. I am not here expecting anything of you except the chance to draw closer to you in this moment. If you guide me to other things through these times, then let them be things that will bring you glory and not me. Let them be things that will draw others closer to yourself regardless of what it costs me. Help me, Lord, to follow Jesus’s model of shunning acclaim and simply serving you and your plan regardless of what it costs me. Help me to only use prayer, service, persuasion, and even suffering to impact the world around me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 4, 2024 in Luke

 

Psalm 145:8-14

03 Sep


8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
    He showers compassion on all his creation.
10 All of your works will thank you, Lord,
    and your faithful followers will praise you.
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
    they will give examples of your power.
12 They will tell about your mighty deeds
    and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
    You rule throughout all generations.

The Lord always keeps his promises;
    he is gracious in all he does.
14 The Lord helps the fallen
    and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

Psalm 145:8-14

Dear God, the great thing about things like this being put to song is that they stick with us more that way. For example, I know 1 John 4:7-8 because of a song I learned when I was nine years old. In this case, as soon as I read this passage this morning I thought of a song I learned over 20 years ago from the church I attended back then. I was actually able to find it on YouTube this morning. “Lord, you are gracious. You are slow to anger. Abounding in love, you are good to all.”

What a great way to pray this morning. Just worship. Lord, you are gracious. You are slow to anger. Abounding in love, you are good to all. Lord, you are gracious. You are slow to anger. Abounding in love, you are good to all. Just over and over again. I embrace those words. I appreciate those words. I wonder what that psalm sounded like when sung in the original Hebrew. The tune. How the words sounded. What exactly they said.

In the theory of psalms of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation (Walter Brueggemann), this one is definitely a psalm of orientation. This is a psalm sung by a person who is on solid footing. But then, does it have to be? Can this be a psalm of disorientation? I don’t think I’m mature enough for it to be for me, but wouldn’t it be great if I were able to get to the point that, in the middle of extreme disorientation, I was able to pray and sing these words. Lord, you are gracious. You are slow to anger. Abounding in love, you are good to all.

Father, teach me to worship you fully. Oooo, it scares me to pray those words. I’m so thick-headed sometimes that I’m afraid of what kind of breaking of my heart I would have to go through to learn that lesson completely. But I’ve given up my life. It is worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the task you have given me. The task of testifying to your grace through Jesus (Acts 20:24).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amens

 
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Posted by on September 3, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Psalms

 

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