14 Friday Apr 2017
Posted in Good Friday, Psalms
Tags
death, lamb, oppressed, pain, peace, pierced, punishment, slaughter, Suffering, transgressions, wounded
He was pierced for our transgressions.
06 Friday Jan 2017
Tags
eternal life, God, mind, National Gallery of Canada, pain, promises, Psalms, repentance, slivers, Suffering, thoughts
Reading: Psalm 119
ז Zayin
(Verses 49-56)
Remember your word to your servant,
for you have given me hope.
My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.
The arrogant mock me unmercifully,
but I do not turn from your law.
I remember, LORD, your ancient laws,
and I find comfort in them.
Indignation grips me because of the wicked,
who have forsaken your law.
Your decrees are the theme of my song
wherever I lodge.
In the night, LORD, I remember your name,
that I may keep your law.
This has been my practice:
I obey your precepts (NIV).
Reflection
Raise your hand if you want a dose of suffering. There aren’t many volunteers when that question is asked. But in all seriousness, we do volunteer for suffering, if we believe there is a benefit.
National Gallery of Canada — photo by David Kitz
As a youngster growing up on a farm, I remember getting a sliver in my finger. It took some convincing from my mother to allow her to dig it out with a needle. Once that sliver was gone, the suffering stopped almost immediately. A small dose of short term pain brought long-lasting relief.
There’s a similar principle at work in a statement from today’s reading. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
It’s the promise of a better future that helps us endure suffering in the present. I’ll endure the suffering of surgery, if it comes with the promise of a pain-free future. But the LORD’s promises are on a grand scale. He doesn’t just preserve my life for the present; He promises to preserve it for eternity. That’s an enormous promise, but our God is far beyond enormous. How do you measure infinity?
Now let’s return to that sliver. You can’t walk through this life without picking up mental slivers—foreign objects that lodge in your mind. It could be an erotic picture, an emotional scar, or an errant thought that grows into a bad habit. Brain slivers aren’t easily removed. And yes, they fester and become infected. It isn’t long and they may begin to take over your whole thought pattern. You can try to remove them yourself, but Jesus is the best brain-sliver remover that I know. Go to him. A little repentant pain can bring eternal relief.
Response: Father God, remove my brain slivers. Forgive me for allowing wrong thoughts and habits to fester. I remember, LORD, your ancient laws, and I find comfort in them. Preserve my life. Amen.
Your Turn: Are there brain slivers that have invaded your mind? Set your mind on God’s promise.
10 Thursday Mar 2016
Posted in Psalms, Thursday's Thought
Grey Nuns Park, Orleans, ON — photo by David Kitz
Reflection
This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is suffering.
Many believers have wrong expectations of God. We believe that if we choose to follow the Lord, He will be spare us from experiencing pain and suffering. We view our relationship with God as a kind of insurance policy that will protect us from heartache and loss. The truth is no such insurance policy exists. On the contrary, the opposite may be true.
The people that God chooses often suffer greatly. His chosen people suffered much as slaves in Egypt. When the Lord Jesus arrested Saul/Paul on the way to Damascus, he was told the road ahead would be marked by suffering. Jesus said, “I will show him [Paul] how much he must suffer for worshiping in my name” (Acts 9:16).
Though the path—your path—may be marked by suffering, we have this promise. The Lord will bring you safely through.
Response: LORD God, I trust you to bring me safely through to the Promised Land. You are my inheritance. Help me to endure hardship as your faithful follower. Amen.
Your Turn: Have you viewed God as your insurance policy against suffering?
07 Monday Mar 2016
Posted in Monday Meditation, Psalms
Photo by Eric E. Wright
Reflection
This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is suffering.
We all suffer or have suffered in various ways, whether it’s physical, psychological or emotional pain. To be human is to suffer.
Our God is the God of nerve endings. We were designed to feel both pain and pleasure. The same nerve endings that give us joy and pleasure can scream out in pain and agony.
Have you heard an atheist railing against God because He allows humans to experience joy and pleasant sensations? Of course not, but God is blamed for allowing suffering. The God of nerve endings allows us to experience both pleasure and pain, and I’m so glad He does.
But beyond all this God hears us when we suffer.
God understands our pleasure and our pain because in the body of Jesus, He fully became one of us.
Response: Lord Jesus, I thank you for identifying with our problems, suffering and weakness. I determine in my heart to thank and praise you both in times of joy and in times of pain. Amen.
Your Turn: How do you respond to suffering? Why is it difficult to praise God in hard times?
26 Tuesday Jan 2016
Reading: Psalm 69
Verses 29-36
But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
may your salvation, God, protect me.
I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
The LORD hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there (NIV).
Reflection
The word ‘despite’ does not appear in this final reading from Psalm 69, but despite its absence it’s at the core of what David is saying here.
But as for me, afflicted and in pain—may your salvation, God, protect me. I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON — photo by David Kitz
Despite affliction and pain David resolves to praise God and give Him thanks. David decides to rise above his circumstances. He does not give into his troubles and sorrows. He does not yield to the complaints of his body. Not by the flesh, but in the Spirit, he rises above his afflictions.
Often I would rather wallow in my difficulties and coddle my discomforts. But the LORD calls us to live on a higher plane. It takes praise, thanksgiving and a song in our heart to lift us to that higher level. But before the song comes and the praise begins to flow, we determine our response. We must decide. We have a ‘but-as-for-me’ moment.
Despite opposition from our flesh, despite the doubts and misgivings of our peers, we determine that God is worthy of our praise. He is the God of the afflicted—not just the God of the feel-good set—so let the thanksgiving begin and praise burst forth.
Often God sees our heart and He intervenes and our situation changes. But if not, He is still worthy of whole hearted praise. Take time to praise and thank Him now.
Response: LORD God, in my difficulties I praise you. This pain-prone human flesh praises you. Thank you for this life you have given me. Your goodness and mercy never end. Amen.
Your Turn: Is praise difficult for you at times?
I love the Psalms 