Can dogs tell time? I think they can. Every evening at exactly 6:00 my very large Labrador Retriever named Georgia arises from her nap and stares me down until I get up and feed her dinner. Exactly at 6:00! Georgia and I have a mutually dependent relationship. I depend on her for her unconditional love expressed through tail wags, and she depends on me for everything in her life: her health and well-being, her sustenance, her shelter, her playtime … just as I depend on God for these things. The first line of Psalm 104, attributed to David, says it all. “All your creations wait for you to give them their food on time.” David was a keen observer of the nature that surrounded him. This verse made me laugh, thinking of how our pets know it’s time to eat. Does your pet do that?
Psalm 104 (Common English Bible)
All your creations wait for you
to give them their food on time.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled completely full!
29 But when you hide your face, they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to dust.
30 When you let loose your breath, they are created,
and you make the surface of the ground brand-new again.
A better translation of “on time” in verse 1 is “in God’s timing.” This alludes to the fact that we are completely dependent on God to provide for us, and it only happens in God’s time. That is an important concept to understand as we mature in our faith. Our daily bread will always be offered to keep us going, but there are other things that we need to wait on God to provide, such as resolutions to our conflicts, answers to prayer, and receiving provision only when we are able to manage it. And sometimes that provision comes in ways we didn’t expect. In those moments we must allow God to be God and give us what we need rather than what we want. When we pray for healing and it comes in the form of death, this is a bitter pill to take. When we pray for help with a marriage that is falling apart and God delivers us through divorce, we have to accept God’s wisdom. When we pray for things we can’t handle, God’s withholding is for our own good.
Verse 28 reminds us that when God provides, we are called to “gather it up.” Like chickens in the barnyard who scatter at the farmer’s feet to receive the corn, we have to come to God in an attitude of humble gratitude for whatever God sees fit to provide. We need both wisdom and effort when it comes to receiving our Lord’s merciful gifts, knowing that everything we are being given comes from God’s goodness and God’s wisdom, which is much higher than our own.
Recognizing our dependance on God is a reason to sing. The Spirit is ready and able to create new things in us and for us with every breath. May we sing to the Lord as long as we live, and may our whole beings bless the Lord.
31 Let the Lord’s glory last forever!
Let the Lord rejoice in all he has made!
32 He has only to look at the earth, and it shakes.
God just touches the mountains, and they erupt in smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I’m still alive.
34 Let my praise be pleasing to him;
I’m rejoicing in the Lord!
35 Let sinners be wiped clean from the earth;
let the wicked be no more.
But let my whole being bless the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
At Water’s Edge 