“How to be properly grounded”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Psalm 119:25-48 (Forward, p. 79) CEV p. 630
Have you ever found yourself subjected to an earthquake? If so, I am sure that you’d want to ensure that whatever building you are in is sturdy. Here
structural foundations are rather key, as can easily be substantiated by news of late. Just think of the apartment style condominium complex in Florida whose foundations were compromised by the salt-laden sea air, or the multi-story buildings in Taiwan that collapsed or tilted perilously due to the recent earthquake. No wonder many jurisdictions are now mandating that new builds have increased stability and protection in terms of tremors.
But what about our moral foundations? Here, in today’s psalm, our psalmist is most explicit in explaining where they should be. To be properly grounded in life we should base our lives upon God’s teachings!
-he says that he longs for God’s teachings (verse 40a).
-and repeatedly he requests to be taught by God, to be taught God’s
laws or Law (verses 26 & 29).
-and furthermore, he asks for God’s help in understanding it as well
(verses 27, 32 & 34).
-and he extolls the benefits of following these teachings: they breathe
new life into him when he’s at the point of death (verse 25), they
teach him what God wants him to do (verses 32-35), they protect him
from insults (verse 39) and they provide him with perfect freedom
(verse 45).
But, of course, all this time and attention. This is where the reading, study and meditation of Scripture, together with prayer, is most essential—which means that we need to quit the ‘busyness’, the hectic rat-race of life, for a moment, and give God our undivided attention for a moment. We need to ground ourselves in His word—so that our lives will likewise be grounded in that word, properly grounded in the only way that is truly possible.
Forward notes: “Let me find grace through your law. I have chosen the way of faithfulness” (verses 29b-30a).
“When a Vietnam veteran in our care near death, his older brother came from hundreds of miles away to be with him. As I walked by the room, I
heard the brother reading Psalm119. He paused and introduced himself, explaining that he was going to read Psalm 119 as long as his brother lived. I asked why he had chosen this particular psalm. He said that he and his brother had a falling out several years ago over his brother’s use of alcohol and drugs, and they had never reconciled. When his brother was admitted to the hospital, he came immediately, and they were able to have what he described as a non-verbal exchange of forgiveness.
“He deeply regretted their time apart, took responsibility for it, and said he found something especially comforting about the assurance of God’s love and mercy through honouring God’s statutes. Now, he would stay with his brother and read this psalm. He resumed reading and read Psalm 119 through the night until his brother died peacefully the following morning. The brothers, in their own ways, found grace.”
Moving Forward: “How can honouring God’s statutes be freeing?”