“There’s something ‘bugging’ me”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, March 14, 2024
Psalm 73 (Forward, p. 45) CEV p. 598
I’m afraid that I find myself quite in sync with today’s psalmist for I find many things in our world that ‘bug’ me. Maybe it is my age or my being settled in my ways or in my thinking, but I find myself being ‘bugged’ continually by developments in the church, in my local community, and in the wider world. It would seem as it doesn’t take very much to ‘bug’ me.
Our psalmist too was bugged and bugged by two things in particular. The first was that those evil doers, those who spurned God and His ways, seemed to go entirely scot-free. They didn’t seem to have problems or health issues like ‘the rest of us.’ Indeed, they seem to ‘get away with murder’, in terms of their cruel remarks and threats and their bullying. In fact, they even blaspheme God, and nothing happens to them. So, quite definitely, this ‘bugs’ him.
But there is one other thing that ‘bugs’ him, something that is probably even more personal. It is the fact that he, the psalmist, tries to toe the line, do what is required of him, and ‘gets nowhere with it.’ In fact, as he says, ‘What good did it do me to keep my thoughts pure and refuse to do wrong? I am sick all day, and I am punished each morning” (verses 13-14). “It was hard for me to understand all this!” (verse 16).
But then, our psalmist joined God’s people in worship and there upon got a new perspective on things. God will indeed render judgment upon such evil doers. And moreover, our psalmist realized that God is ever with him to guide and uphold him. Indeed, God is his strength, his choice, and his most precious possession. God is all that he wants or needs. And so, this realization puts an end to his previous stupidity and ignorance. And, may this realization do the same for us: put an end to our fretting and our tendency to be ‘bugged’ quite so easily.
Forward notes: “When my mind became embittered, I was sorely wounded in my heart” (verse 21).
“Have you ever put up a roadblock in your relationship with Jesus? Many of us encountered crises of faith as we grew from children to adults, and we found the faith of our childhood no longer served us. In some cases,
church structures marginalized people, and the quest for faith left us lost, embittered, and wounded.
“One Easter in the mid-1990s, I remember feeling a deep pain in my heart. Everything concerning faith seemed painful and difficult. I had no idea who God wanted me to be, nor did I find joy in encountering God in prayer. My heart was hurt. I was longing for a fuller life, yet I kept reaching dead ends. I decided I needed to ask God to remove this hurt and replace it with a discerning heart. Through my efforts in prayer, I eventually began to see my purpose in the world differently than I had imagined. By acknowledging my struggle, God broke through my walls and offered me the healing and love I desired.”
Moving Forward: “What roadblocks have you erected in your faith? Are you ready to ask Jesus to remove the obstacles?”