Lenten devotions 2008

Tue, 12 Feb 2008

FEB. 13 - A QUIET CONFIDENCE IN THE MIDST OF DESPAIR
By Becky Horst, associate registrar and grants coordinator

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 121 (NRSV)
Scroll down for complete Scripture.

DEVOTIONAL:
"Why are all these terrible things happening to me?" my friend asked. "I try to be a good person. Why is God allowing this?"

My friend had reason to despair. Her little son suffers from asthma. She has multiple health problems, including chronic depression. During the housing bubble, her family bought a house, which turned out to have such severe mold and plumbing problems that they lost most of their savings when they had to repair it and then sell it after the housing bubble burst. Now her husband learned that he is losing his job. Can my friend rely on God to bring her "out of the depths"?

In the NRSV Bible, Psalm 121 is sub-titled "Assurance of God's Protection." "The LORD will keep you from all evil," it says. "The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore." Really? Even my friend, in her depths of despair?

Many of the Psalms are laments that help us cry out to God, but this one is quietly confident. The book of Psalms is the hymnal of the Hebrews, and Psalm 121 calls to mind some of my own favorite hymns: "Farther along we'll know all about it. Farther along we'll understand why," "Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal" "No storm can shake my inmost calm, for to that rock I'm clinging. If Love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?"

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 121 (NRSV)
A Song of Ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the hills --
   from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
   who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
   he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
   the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
   he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
   your going out and your coming in
   from this time on and for evermore.

Posted at 17:30 #



Disclaimer:
The views and beliefs expressed in the devotional piece prepared by each individual reflect their own spiritual growth journey and thoughts, and while created in a campus environment that encourages thoughtful questions and reflection on biblical Scripture and contemporary Christian themes, do not necessarily represent the official institutional positions of Goshen College or Mennonite Church USA.