Focus

Stop and thank God for being present with you today. Ask for God’s guidance as you hear God’s voice through scripture and the writer.

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Read

Psalm 39 (NRSV)

I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:

“LORD, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will gather.

“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows of your hand.

“You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah

“Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears.
Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more.”

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Reflect

Coming from the poorer side of town had some advantages. I could always count on neighborhood friends to be around. Not many families had the extra funds to take vacations. Fun meant being very inventive because there wasn’t money to buy many toys. We never thought of ourselves as poor, especially when we were very young. But that type of thinking changes with age.

I still remember my experience across the tracks. The temptation to put stock on worldly things is strong when you did not have much growing up. Even today, as a pastor, I often wish I could afford things even though I know in my head and heart that I have all I need. Materialism has a powerful call.

I follow a God who asks me to remember that enough is all I need. What is enough? How about knowing you will have something to eat every day and a safe, warm place to lay your head. Psalm 39 reminds me that I am but a puff of wind and my possessions meaningless, only love lasts.

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Pray

God, thank you for reminding me that I don’t need things. Thank you for giving me enough. Continue to remind me of my role in helping others also to have enough. Amen.

Go with God.