Dec. 19 - Trusting God, when we have so much
Contributed by
Rafael Barahona, director of Hispanic education in theology and leadership on Wednesday December 19
Scripture
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. O LORD God of hosts,how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh
among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
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Devotion
Although Israel had material prosperity, it had lost its relationship with God. The pen of the Psalmist yearns for what was lost and begs to enjoy the blessings of God again. Undoubtedly, Israelites had walked away from the will of God to trust in their own resources.
Realizing their immense need for God, the psalmist cries out for restoration, but at the same time recognizes that they caused this sad situation by walking away from God. The answer to their need, also, will come only by returning to God. Today, we live in an environment of abundance in North America. Few of us know what it is to experience need, much less what it means to cry for help. Furthermore, our concept of need is much distorted. We have dichotomized ourselves, providing for the "material" things while forgetting the "spiritual" things. We have not realized that as God's created beings we cannot separate the one from the other. No material prosperity will bring any true joy to our lives unless we are walking in the center of God's will for us. We need to be restored to a right relationship with God; we need to be saved from the perdition of consumerism. We need to say with the Psalmist, "Restore us, O God Almighty: make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved!" La porción bíblica que nos ocupa, refleja una profunda súplica del salmista por volver a una condición ideal en la cual Israel vivió tiempo atrás cuando obedecían a la voz de Dios. Aunque ahora tenían prosperidad material, habían perdido la relación o comunión con Dios. La pluma del salmista anhela lo que perdieron, y ruega poder volver a gozar de la bendición de Dios. Indudablemente, se habían alejado de Dios desobedeciendo Su voluntad y habían confiado en sus propios recursos. Al darse cuenta de su tremenda necesidad de Dios, surge una súplica por una restauración, pero también un reconocimiento, que la situación de angustia es a causa de haberse apartado de Dios. Además, reconoce que la respuesta a su necesidad solamente puede venir de Dios.
En un ambiente de abundancia como el que vivimos en este país, no sabemos lo que es tener necesidad. Mucho menos sabemos lo que es suplicar. Aun más, nuestro concepto de necesidad está muy distorsionado. Nos hemos dicotomizado, proveyendo para lo "material" abandonado lo "espiritual," sin darnos cuenta que como seres creados por Dios no podemos separar lo uno de lo otro. Ninguna prosperidad material traerá verdadero gozo espiritual a menos que estemos en el centro de la voluntad de Dios. Nosotros también necesitamos ser restaurados a la comunión con Dios, necesitamos ser salvos de la perdición a la que nos lleva el consumismo. Necesitamos decir con el salmista, ¡Oh Jehová haz resplandecer tu rostro y seremos salvos!
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