Focus

Relax and clear your head. Listen for the voice of God. What is God saying to you today?

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Read

Psalm 56 (NRSV)

To the leader: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
all day long foes oppress me;
my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many fight against me.

O Most High, when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid;
what can flesh do to me?
All day long they seek to injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk,
they watch my steps.

As they hoped to have my life,
so repay them for their crime;
in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your record?
Then my enemies will retreat
in the day when I call.

This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?
My vows to you I must perform, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
in the light of life.

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Reflect

Reflect for a moment on a time that you felt despondent and in despair. You couldn’t sleep. You couldn’t eat. You felt all alone because you thought that no one cared about your pain. Thankfully, I have never been subjected to the kind of oppression that David experienced but I do know what it feels like to be so anxious that I have tossed and turned and cried myself to sleep. David is laying all the anguish he is feeling at God’s feet. Then it is as though he has a divine realization:
You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your record?

God cares for us when we are suffering. We are not alone. As I was reading those lines, I recalled a hymn we used to sing at the old country church I attended as a child. “Does Jesus Care?” I paused to look up this hymn by Frank E. Graeff and read that he wrote it after a going through a period of great despondency, doubt and physical pain.

Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Thanks be to God.

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Pray

Compassionate and Faithful God, Thank you for your comforting presence and limitless love! We offer praise to your son who cares so much for us and in whose name we pray, Amen.

Go with God!