#dailydevotionals | At Water’s Edge

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Betsy

At some point in your life, you will endure a break-up. It is as inevitable as death and taxes. It might be a romantic interest, a friend, a co-worker, a family member, or even a spouse. We know the pain that ending a close relationship can bring. The classic rock song, ”Breaking Up is Hard to Do” speaks truth into that pain. A bad break-up can leave a scar that lasts a long time.

Breaking up with someone who has wronged you is even harder. It’s hard enough when a relationship has run its natural course, but when the other person betrays you, strays from the relationship, undermines you, or is downright evil in their dealings with you, that scar can be permanent.

Our Psalm today is a lovely reminder that when we have been left in the dust by someone who has done us wrong, we don’t need to fret over it. God will take care of us in that situation by taking care of the evildoer. Our job is to let go, “let God,” and commit our way toward the justice, righteousness, and healing that only God can offer:

Psalm 37 (Common English Bible)

Don’t get upset over evildoers;
    don’t be jealous of those who do wrong,
²    because they will fade fast, like grass;
    they will wither like green vegetables.
³Trust the Lord and do good;
    live in the land, and farm faithfulness.
⁴Enjoy the Lord,
    and he will give what your heart asks.

I have a friend who is going through a terrible divorce. Another friend is struggling with a rebellious and sullen teenager. Another is dealing with an ex who is trying to change their custody agreement. All of these situations are hurtful. What can we do when people let us down so terribly? David suggests that we should do good and ”farm faithfulness.” I love that phrase. We should commit to God, trust him, and WAIT.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord!
    Trust him! He will act
⁶    and will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
    your justice like high noon.
⁷Be still before the Lord,
    and wait for him.
Don’t get upset when someone gets ahead—
    someone who invents evil schemes.

And in your waiting, look only at God. He will deliver you.

⁸Let go of anger and leave rage behind!
    Don’t get upset—it will only lead to evil.
⁹Because evildoers will be eliminated,
    but those who hope in the Lord—
    they will possess the land.
¹⁰In just a little while the wicked won’t exist!
    If you go looking around their place,
    they won’t be there.

It is normal to feel weak in those times when someone is getting the better of you, especially when that person is acting from evil intentions while you are remaining steadfast in your righteousness. It can be tempting to be underhanded in your response, because feeling weak is so debilitating. But God calls us to a higher standard.

Remember that when you are weak, God is strong.

This battle is his.

¹¹But the weak will inherit the land;
they will enjoy a surplus of peace.

May the peace of Christ surround you today as you watch what God is doing.

Watching and Waiting by Michelle Robertson

Take the Beach Road

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Betsy

On the Outer Banks in North Carolina, there are two main roads for traveling north to south. Highway 12 (a small two-lane road known as the Beach Road) runs parallel to the ocean and is a picturesque route featuring rustic beach cottages, small mom-and-pop venues, beach access points, sea oats, and stunning ocean views. The Bypass (Highway 158) runs parallel to the beach road and features five lanes of rushing traffic, crowded strip malls, touristy establishments, too many traffic lights, grocery stores, and more chain drug stores than you would think a place with such a small permanent population would require.

The speed limit on the Beach Road is 35 and on the Bypass it is 50. (Unless it is a crowded Saturday in the summer, in which case the functional speed on both roads is 35 or under.) That is when locals turn to one another with a confidence born of experience and say, “Take the beach road.” Local wisdom figures that if 35 is the fastest you will be able to go anyway, you might as well enjoy the view.

Actually, there are many reasons to take the Beach Road. The charm, the salty ocean breeze, the views, and the sound of waves crashing on the shore all serve to calm the spirit and refresh the soul. And you won’t encounter people not knowing how to navigate the tricky middle turn lane as you would on the Bypass.

“Take the Beach Road” has become a metaphor for making life choices that slow down your pace, help you to breathe, focus your attention on the glory around you, and relax.

You remember how to relax, don’t you??

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, he addresses a choice that they are facing. Will they continue to live under the law of Moses, with its multiple red lights, its complicated turn lanes, and its lack of freedom, or will they choose the glory of the Beach Road that is freedom in Christ Jesus?

2 Corinthians 3 (Common English Bible)

¹²So, since we have such a hope, we act with great confidence. ¹³We aren’t like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites couldn’t watch the end of what was fading away. ¹⁴But their minds were closed. Right up to the present day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. The veil is not removed because it is taken away by Christ. ¹⁵Even today, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts.

The law of Moses can only take you so far. But when the veil of that law is removed, freedom of movement is available through the opening of the veil by Christ’s actions on the cross. Remember when the curtain in the Temple was torn in two pieces from top to bottom at Jesus’ death? Come on in.

You can be forgiven.

You can be redeemed.

You can move forward in hope and confidence.

¹⁶But whenever someone turns back to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. ¹⁸All of us are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror. We are being transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Through repentance and confession, we are invited to turn back to the Lord and experience the glory of forgiveness and redemption. And so we never need to be discouraged, because mercy is always just ahead at the next intersection.

4 This is why we don’t get discouraged, given that we received this ministry in the same way that we received God’s mercy. ²Instead, we reject secrecy and shameful actions. We don’t use deception, and we don’t tamper with God’s word. Instead, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God by the public announcement of the truth.

Whatever road you are on right now, don’t get discouraged. Take a moment to breathe. You can find hope in the Spirit and have confidence that if you are staying in a lane that leads to Jesus, you are on the right road. And if life’s troubles and complications have you exhausted today, pause for a moment, breathe deeply, and take the Beach Road.

Shaking and Quaking

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Betsy

Last week I sat in the living room listening to a two-year old and his grandfather as they were playing. Using magnetic pieces of plastic and a lot of imagination, they were building things. A structure was built and then the two-year old would yell, “Layne runned over it!” and suddenly the structure they had put together was demolished. Then the process would start over again. With Godzilla-like power, buildings fell under his tiny but mighty foot, and the grandfather laughed and laughed.

Our Psalm today talks about the power of God in similar terms. God is strong. The Lord is great. The nations shake and the earth quakes in his presence:

Psalm 99 (Common English Bible)

The Lord rules—
    the nations shake!
    He sits enthroned on the winged heavenly creatures—
    the earth quakes!
²The Lord is great in Zion;
    he is exalted over all the nations.
³Let them thank your great and awesome name.
    He is holy!

⁴Strong king who loves justice,
you are the one who established what is fair.
You worked justice and righteousness in Jacob.

We see a different aspect of God’s power now, as the psalmist extols God’s love for justice and righteousness. These are qualities of strength that we need in our leaders. God is our strong king, and no human power can compare.

⁵Magnify the Lord, our God!
    Bow low at his footstool!
    He is holy!
⁶Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    Samuel too among those who called on his name.
They cried out to the Lord, and he himself answered them—
⁷    he spoke to them from a pillar of cloud.
They kept the laws and the rules God gave to them.

In recalling the leaders of the past, the psalmist points to the covenant relationship of a God who rules through designated people. The laws and rules of God allow the covenant relationship to flourish when both sides adhere to God’s will and God’s rule. You can see the admiration the psalmist has for a God who speaks to his people from a pillar of cloud and answers them when the cry out to him.

⁸Lord our God, you answered them.
To them you were a God who forgives
but also the one who avenged their wrong deeds.

Are you crying out to God today? Do you need the benefit of his power, the gentleness of his forgiveness, the satisfaction of his vengeance, and the swift relief of his answer? Our psalm today reminds us to cry out to him, and he will answer. When we submit our situation to our mighty God, he comes to our aid. It is time to bow low before him.
⁹Magnify the Lord our God!
Bow low at his holy mountain
because the Lord our God is holy!

You Can Run, But …

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Betsy

Several years ago I ran a half marathon in my community. The community support for this event amazed me and I was delighted by all of the signs people put up along the route to encourage the runners. Many of the businesses along the route had signs, and my favorite was the one in front of the Kitty Hawk Police Department. Theirs read:

You can run, but you can’t hide. Good luck from the Kitty Hawk Police!

It makes me laugh to this day!

Have you ever tried to run away from God’s instruction, correction, or will for your life? Have you ever tried to hide from God? I have. In addition to the many times I tried to hide my sin and shame from him, I also tried to hide from my calling to become an ordained pastor. The idea of three years of seminary and pursuing the arduous process of ordination when I was a young wife and mother of preschoolers was terrifying. I put a veil of non-compliance over my face for two years and tried to pacify God with over-volunteering at the church to see if that would work.

It didn’t.

God sees through our veils.

Moses found himself in a situation where he had to veil the glory of God when God was establishing his Law on Mount Sinai. The importance of this event cannot be overstated. Think for a moment of how much the Law of the Ten Commandments informed the rest of our covenant relationship with God. These important rules are part of secular law even today, regardless of whether or not you can find them in a modern day courthouse. Governments can take them off the lawns or walls, but they are imbedded in how we act as a society.

When Moses encountered God, his face would glow to the point where it brought fear to the people:

Exodus 34 (Common English Bible)

²⁹Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two covenant tablets in his hand, Moses didn’t realize that the skin of his face shone brightly because he had been talking with God.³⁰When Aaron and all the Israelites saw the skin of Moses’ face shining brightly, they were afraid to come near him. ³¹But Moses called them closer. So Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and Moses spoke with them. ³²After that, all the Israelites came near as well, and Moses commanded them everything that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. ³³When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

And so the glory of God reflecting off of Moses’ face had to be tempered by a veil until the people could grow accustomed to it. But in God’s presence, the veil came off:

³⁴Whenever Moses went into the Lord’s presence to speak with him, Moses would take the veil off until he came out again. When Moses came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses’ face was shining brightly. So Moses would put the veil on his face again until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.

It is fruitless to try to veil yourself in God’s presence. He sees right through it. It is fruitless to try to run from God. He can outrun you by half a marathon.

Are you running from God? Are you trying to hide your sin and shame? It’s time to come clean and come home. When you face your situation openly and honestly, you will find that God is waiting to receive you with open arms of forgiveness and acceptance.

The repentant heart is never rejected.

Level Ground

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Betsy

Today’s Scripture is a whopper. It happens in a physical location that Luke describes as “level ground,” but it also happens at a spiritual “level ground” as well. When you read this, expect to be grounded.

And possibly leveled.

Luke is very transparent about the audience: they came to hear Jesus because they needed healing. They came to level ground to be healed from all their diseases. Some had unclean spirits. Some were bothered. They had learned about his power, and everyone wanted to touch him.

Are you sick in spirit?

Are you bothered by life?

Do you need to be healed?

Proceed with caution.

Luke 6 (Common English Bible)

¹⁷Jesus came down from the mountain with them and stood on a large area of level ground. A great company of his disciples and a huge crowd of people from all around Judea and Jerusalem and the area around Tyre and Sidon joined him there. ¹⁸They came to hear him and to be healed from their diseases, and those bothered by unclean spirits were healed. ¹⁹The whole crowd wanted to touch him, because power was going out from him and he was healing everyone.

²⁰Jesus raised his eyes to his disciples and said:

“Happy are you who are poor,
    because God’s kingdom is yours.
²¹Happy are you who hunger now,
    because you will be satisfied.
Happy are you who weep now,
    because you will laugh.

So far, so good. This twist on what we normally think of happiness fits into Jesus’ style of teaching. Happy=poor, happy=hungry, happy=weeping … this all equates in the system I call “Jesus math.” Jesus doesn’t do math like we do. He has his own system of equations.

Then it gets more extreme.

²²Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and condemn your name as evil because of the Human One. ²³Rejoice when that happens! Leap for joy because you have a great reward in heaven. Their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.

To define happiness THIS way requires the mind of the divine. But do you see what Jesus is getting at here? Happiness means being completely, wholly, and entirely SOLD OUT to Jesus and his cross. That indeed is cause to rejoice, even in the midst of the world’s condemnation.

Then it gets more extreme.

²⁴But how terrible for you who are rich,
    because you have already received your comfort.
²⁵How terrible for you who have plenty now,
    because you will be hungry.
How terrible for you who laugh now,
    because you will mourn and weep.
²⁶How terrible for you when all speak well of you.
    Their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.

Jesus math comes in again. Terrible=rich. Terrible=plentiful. Terrible=laughing. Terrible=praise from the world.

What can we learn from this today? I think it calls us to take a hard look at our own math. If you live your life on the “plus side” of things, perhaps it is time to minus out some of your excess and reach out to others. When we share from our plenty … our resources, our lives, our egos, and our hearts … that is when our math shifts.

What can you do today to bring joy to someone? How can you build up someone’s situation and diminish your own in the cause of the kingdom? Where can you impact the world for something outside of yourself?

And if you find yourself on the “minus side” of things, where can you go to reach out for help?

We are all sick in one way or another, but when we touch Jesus’ power, his healing flows to us and through us. That, my friends, is the math of equality.

Jesus calls us all to level the ground around us. Where do you fit into the equasion?

Transformed

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Betsy

Today I want to start by confessing a guilty pleasure. I have loved the show “Project Runway” from the very first season. Those of you who know me in real life know that 1. I am not a fashion maven by any stretch of the word and 2. I can’t sew. My idea of high fashion is finding a great solid top to match a comfortable pair of jeans. I don’t even like prints! But I love watching ordinary people taking a piece of cloth and transforming it into something breathtaking in the span of an hour, minus commercials. When the big reveal on the runway happens, it is like magic to me.

I love a good story about transformation. To see someone change their life right before your eyes is a sight to behold. I have a young friend who spent years living on the streets when she was addicted to heroin. Now she is clean, runs her own fitness studio, and is a voice in the wilderness for recovery and hope. Her transformation story is profound and inspiring.

Today’s passage involves a moment of transformation, a big reveal, and a change that changed the world.

Luke 9 (The Message)

²⁸^-31About eight days after saying this, he climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. While he was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became blinding white. At once two men were there talking with him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah—and what a glorious appearance they made! They talked over his exodus, the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem.

Jesus’ appearance changed dramatically on the mountain. His companions also changed dramatically when Moses and Elijah joined him there. Luke describes it as a “glorious appearance.” When the disciples woke up from their nap, the glory was blinding and confusing:

^32-33Meanwhile, Peter and those with him were slumped over in sleep. When they came to, rubbing their eyes, they saw Jesus in his glory and the two men standing with him. When Moses and Elijah had left, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He blurted this out without thinking.

Ahhh, Peter. So much like us! Have you ever blurted out something without thinking? I love Peter’s humanity.

³^4-35While he was babbling on like this, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them. As they found themselves buried in the cloud, they became deeply aware of God. Then there was a voice out of the cloud: “This is my Son, the Chosen! Listen to him.”

God appeared as a light-radiant cloud and everyone became deeply aware of him. This is something we should all be longing for … to encounter God in such a transformative way that we are deeply aware of his presence.

I think too often we are pretty unaware of God’s presence. Scripture assures us that God is with us, even unto the ends of the earth. But do we take the time to feel him? Do we take our eyes off of our worldly problems long enough to see him? Or are we asleep, like Peter, James, and John?

³⁶When the sound of the voice died away, they saw Jesus there alone. They were speechless. And they continued speechless, said not one thing to anyone during those days of what they had seen.

There is one major take-away here. God confirmed Jesus as his son and commands us to “Listen to him.”

Are you listening?

Do you see?

There is a big reveal waiting to happen in your life. Maybe it’s time to go to the mountain and pray.

The Truth Is

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Betsy

A friend of mine has written a Bible study called “Believe.” It is an exploration of the pillars of the Christian faith and serves as a kind of “Christianity 101.” One of her chapters explores the Apostles Creed, which is a kind of Reader’s Digest version of centuries of Christian thought in one lovely statement.

If you take a moment to unpack it (rather than say it by rote, as we all tend to do), you will find all of the foundations of what we believe. God as creator. Jesus as his son. Mary as a virgin. Jesus crucified, dead and buried. And then on the third day, he arose from the dead. It’s all in there:

The Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The early church began to struggle with the notion of the resurrection of the body. Paul dealt with this in the church in Corinth. (Lord have mercy! Paul dealt with EVERYTHING at the church in Corinth!) Secular thinking had infiltrated the community of faith, pointing out the ridiculous notion of a bodily resurrection for both Jesus and his followers.

So Paul fights back:

1 Corinthians 15 (The Message)

^12-15Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.

^16-20If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot.

But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.

The truth is that Christ was raised up. There were witnesses! And if we trust that, and we do, then we can trust in our own resurrection. It is indeed ridiculous. And miraculous. And unbelievable.
And true.

When I officiate a funeral, I encourage the mourners to hang their hats on this one unshakable truth. Because Jesus lives, you shall live also. And at the other end of all of this is a great heavenly reunion with all who have gone before us.

I believe, and I can’t wait. How about you?

You Choose

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Betsy

Every time I read Psalm 1, it takes me back several years to a time when my youngest daughter had a guinea pig who needed to go to the vet. I drove him to the office, and carefully carried him down the sidewalk to the entrance. Then I noticed that there were two sidewalks and two entrances: one marked “Dogs” and the other marked “Cats.” I stood there, looking confused, and tried to decide if Gus was more dog or cat. I spotted the vet tech laughing at me as she stood in the window that was between the two doors. When she caught my eye, she pointed toward the Cat door. Makes sense when you think about it, since cats arrive in cages and dogs arrive on foot.

That little moment reminded me that we are often confronted with two choices, and the path that we choose will determine what happens next. We have a choice to do good or do evil. We have a choice to offer compassion or ignore people’s needs. We have a choice to work for the betterment of our community or stay home and leech off of other people’s efforts. We have a choice to uplift or condemn. We have a choice to follow God or ignore him.

Psalm 1 offers a clear delineation of two choices. You can be a wicked and disrespectful sinner, or you can be a happy person who knows God’s word and follows God’s instruction:

Psalm 1 (Common English Bible)

The truly happy person
    doesn’t follow wicked advice,
    doesn’t stand on the road of sinners,
    and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful.
²Instead of doing those things,
    these persons love the Lord’s Instruction,
    and they recite God’s Instruction day and night!
³They are like a tree replanted by streams of water,
    which bears fruit at just the right time
    and whose leaves don’t fade.
        Whatever they do succeeds.

The Psalmist is clear in describing the results of your choices. People who follow God bear fruit and are successful, but woe unto the wicked:

⁴That’s not true for the wicked!
    They are like dust that the wind blows away.
⁵And that’s why the wicked will have no standing in the court of justice—
    neither will sinners
    in the assembly of the righteous.
⁶The Lord is intimately acquainted
    with the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked is destroyed.

Not everything in life is so black and white, unfortunately. The path isn’t always so clearly marked as it was at the vet’s office. Many people find themselves going down a wrong path after making an ill-considered choice.

That’s when it is time to look at the window in the middle. Christ himself stands there, ready to re-direct, forgive, and help us back on the right path.

Have you strayed from the place where God put you? Have you wandered away and lost your footing?

The good news for us today it that there is always a way back. Trust, obey, and come on in. The door to happiness and salvation is always open. Thanks be to God!

Reflections of Grace by Kathy Schumacher

Push Out Into Deep Water

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Betsy

Our Scripture today is a true classic. You will recognize it as soon as your read it. Now that I live on the Outer Banks, all the fishing stories in the Scriptures have a different meaning for me. I am surrounded by boats, water, fishermen, nets, and beautiful ocean sunrises.

(Okay, in complete transparency, it is my friend Michelle who gets up at o-dark-thirty to capture the sunrises, but I live vicariously through her photography. When I get up. Two hours later.)

Luke tells the story of Jesus encouraging the fishermen to go back out to the water and try again to catch some fish after a long day of fishing with no results. This is a little like that time your Dad told you to try again when your legs, arms, or brain were too tired from your fruitless exertion as you attempted to do something. Whether it was learning how to ride a bike after countless falls, pitching poorly in the eighth inning in the Georgia heat, or having to re-take your SATs, Dads are always pushing frustrated kids to try again. Jesus is just like that here:

Luke 5 (The Message)

^1-3Once when he was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, the crowd was pushing in on him to better hear the Word of God. He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. He climbed into the boat that was Simon’s and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd.

The fishermen only scrub their nets at the end of the day, so you know they were over it. Finished, pooped, kaput … they were DONE.

⁴When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, “Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.”

So now Jesus tells them not only to try again, but to push out into deep water, which meant rowing farther and harder than they had all day. I’m sure there was an eye-roll or two among them. Didn’t he notice that their nets had returned empty? Come on, Jesus!

^5-7Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch.

Oh, my goodness. Pushing out to the deep as Jesus instructed resulted in a bounty of fish so great, it took two boats of tired fishermen to haul it back to shore.

^8-10Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus. “Master, leave. I’m a sinner and can’t handle this holiness. Leave me to myself.” When they pulled in that catch of fish, awe overwhelmed Simon and everyone with him. It was the same with James and John, Zebedee’s sons, coworkers with Simon.

^10-11Jesus said to Simon, “There is nothing to fear. From now on you’ll be fishing for men and women.” They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them, nets and all, and followed him.

Where is God calling you to ”push out into the deep?” Is he telling you to move beyond your comfort zone to do his will or his work? Do you feel unworthy, like Peter? We all do. But this story is a great reminder that when you are obedient to God’s instruction to ”try again,” he will multiply your blessings.

All you need to do is follow him.

Loyal Love

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Betsy

We use the word “love” a lot nowadays. From the deepest relationship love to the most casual, “Girl! I love your shoes!”, the word love is often on our lips. Everyone is in the habit of saying “Love you!” at the end of a phone call. Have you ever embarrassed yourself by signing off on a call with that familiar phrase, only to remember that you were talking to the lady at the water department? I have!

What are some things that you love? It might be a favorite sports team, a pet, your children/parents/spouse, Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies … we are blessed to have a list of things we love with all our hearts. I recently preached a sermon on 1 Corinthians 13, the famous ”love passage,” and found a lovely illustration on children’s thoughts on love. One young girl explained that love is like when her grandmother got arthritis, preventing her from being able to bend over to paint her toenails, her grandfather started doing it for her, even though he has arthritis in his hands. That is loyal love, my friends.

David wrote a beautiful psalm about his love for God, and God’s love for him. David knew God intimately, and these words reflect the depth of David’s appreciation and understanding for a God who loves us with a deep and abiding love:

Psalm 138 (Common English Bible)

I give thanks to you with all my heart, Lord.
    I sing your praise before all other gods.
²I bow toward your holy temple
    and thank your name
    for your loyal love and faithfulness
        because you have made your name and word
        greater than everything else.
³On the day I cried out, you answered me.
    You encouraged me with inner strength.

Let’s pause there a moment and think of God’s love for us. David describes it as ”loyal love and faithfulness.” I agree with that. Too often, as we go about our day, we neglect to show God the appreciation that he is due. This Psalm is a good reminder that whenever we cry out, God answers us.

Do you need to cry out to God today? He is always listening.

⁴Let all the earth’s rulers give thanks to you, Lord,
    when they hear what you say.
⁵Let them sing about the Lord’s ways
    because the Lord’s glory is so great!
⁶Even though the Lord is high,
    he can still see the lowly,
    but God keeps his distance from the arrogant.

I know a young man who is extremely arrogant. His over-inflated sense of self-worth led him down some dangerous paths as he sought to feed his insatiable ego. Then came a life-changing downfall. Did God abandon him? No. Did God keep his distance? You bet.

⁷Whenever I am in deep trouble,
    you make me live again;
    you send your power against my enemies’ wrath;
    you save me with your strong hand.
⁸The Lord will do all this for my sake.

So here is the good news for that young man, and for us as well. David writes that whenever he was in deep trouble, God provided the strength to get out of his situation. The problem with arrogance is that we think we have it all under control, and so we don’t seek God’s help. Arrogance prevents us from being willing to yield to God’s will. But when we lay down our egos, God can come in.

Your faithful love lasts forever, Lord!
Don’t let go of what your hands
have made.

I love that last line … don’t let go. You see, even in our most despicable times, God may distance himself from our sin, but he NEVER LETS GO. His reach is beyond measure and his love is loyal and faithful.

I hope that gives you encouragement today. If you have gotten too ”full of yourself,” you can always repent and return. When you do, you’ll find that God had his long arm extended with his sure grasp on your shoulder the whole time. Thanks be to God!