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

Psalms 107:1-16 (NRSV)

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.

Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
they fell down, with no one to help.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

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Reflect

As a child, I thought that when I became an adult all of my worries and problems would disappear. Tears after arguments with friends, frustrations from living under the thumb of strict parents, the aggravation of school work—those things would no longer be a part of my everyday life. Ah, the innocence of youth! I just knew that the instant I was grown up, out of school, married, and working in my dream job, life would be a breeze.

I felt as though I was imprisoned. I hated school! I didn’t have a real “best friend” at the time; I felt a little smothered by parents who wanted to know where I was and with whom I was spending my free time. If God would just make these things go away, I told myself, life would be great! God could do that for me, right? I was a church-going kid who said my prayers every night. God should ‘snap my prison bars like matchsticks,’ and free me from my burdens!

Well, of course God didn’t do that. What happened instead was that I learned to cope. I learned that God is with us as we break through our own prison bars. God gave me wisdom, strength, and even a tiny dab of patience to get me through those frustrating times.

And guess what? When I grew up, those problems did not go away! There are still times when I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. However, I have learned that while, yes, these issues are still in my life and will always be in my life, God is in my life, too. God is my constant companion who will walk with me through the troubled times.

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Pray

God, you know my prison. You are with me each and every moment of my life. Comfort me when I’m overwhelmed, guide me when I’m searching for the right pathway, and calm me when I feel anxious. Amen.

Go with God.