Focus

Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for a peace at this time.

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Read

Psalm 12 (NRSV)

Help, O LORD, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail;
our lips are our own—who is our master?”

“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
I will now rise up,” says the LORD;
“I will place them in the safety for which they long.”
The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.

You, O LORD, will protect us;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among humankind.

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Reflect

The psalm starts with a gloomy problem and a bitter request. I thought, Oh no! Not one of those psalms! But God, always loving, offers wonderful promises and some are in this psalm.

We know that God promises care and safety. I can quickly list a dozen times when God has protected me from serious harm, rescued me from bad decisions, or walked me out of messes of my own doing. Given the hazards in this life, there must be more than a dozen. Try once a day: 365 times your age. For me, a huge number. Even for a 30-year-old it is 10,950!

In this crazy world we meet many hazards each day. Suppose it were one per hour. Do the math: 365 x your age x 24 = a massive number.

And we also make our own disasters. Can you mess up as quickly as I? In a second? That is 365 x 86,400 seconds in a day. Wow! Thirty one and a half million chances a year to seriously blunder or to be devoured by another person’s error. Millions of split-second decisions that, if managed differently, would have avoided heartache. Better thinking or circumstances might have saved the life of my friend who didn’t fasten his seat belt or the descent into drug-life agony of another who didn’t bother to say “no” when he knew he should have.
Has God cared for you? If you’re reading this, the answer is clear. Rejoice! Be thankful and optimistic!

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Pray

You, O Lord, protect us, just as you promise! As I look back, I see that you guarded my life better than I have. Thank you for those occasions I recognize and for the far greater number of times I didn’t know that you were keeping me from harm by others and from the consequences of my own foolishness. You never get lazy in your care over me! Speak to me about what that means and how I can become more like Jesus Christ. Here is the rest of my life—teach me how to use it so that it says, “Thank you, God.” Amen.

Go with God.