Epiphany 3 / OT 3
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
-- Psalm 27:1
This psalm celebrates the power of worship in the face of personally devastating circumstances. It is attributed to David, and one can imagine several incidents in David's life when he would have exulted in God's deliverance from his enemies. If we translate evildoers and adversaries into the negative circumstances of our lives, we can easily hear our name in the psalm. Whether it is David, or ourselves, we can recognize that it is in the act of worship that we gain strength. "One thing I asked of the Lord ... to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life." As we rehearse God's faithfulness to us in the past, we gain strength for the future. "... I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy. I will sing and make melody to the Lord." We lift our voices in praise, not because God's presence is obvious to us, but because we retain the memory of his saving grace, and so we seek to experience it anew. Scripture repeatedly speaks of God as one who hears the cry of those in distress. So, despite the seeming absence of God in a given moment in our lives, we lay claim to the faithfulness of God that we have heard about. "Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!" Our very act of crying out evokes something deep within us. " 'Come,' my heart says, 'seek his face!' Your face, O Lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me." Even when tragedy has shattered our faith, it is worth participating in the act of worship because it is in worship that our faith can be restored.
-- Psalm 27:1
This psalm celebrates the power of worship in the face of personally devastating circumstances. It is attributed to David, and one can imagine several incidents in David's life when he would have exulted in God's deliverance from his enemies. If we translate evildoers and adversaries into the negative circumstances of our lives, we can easily hear our name in the psalm. Whether it is David, or ourselves, we can recognize that it is in the act of worship that we gain strength. "One thing I asked of the Lord ... to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life." As we rehearse God's faithfulness to us in the past, we gain strength for the future. "... I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy. I will sing and make melody to the Lord." We lift our voices in praise, not because God's presence is obvious to us, but because we retain the memory of his saving grace, and so we seek to experience it anew. Scripture repeatedly speaks of God as one who hears the cry of those in distress. So, despite the seeming absence of God in a given moment in our lives, we lay claim to the faithfulness of God that we have heard about. "Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!" Our very act of crying out evokes something deep within us. " 'Come,' my heart says, 'seek his face!' Your face, O Lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me." Even when tragedy has shattered our faith, it is worth participating in the act of worship because it is in worship that our faith can be restored.
