“How long”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, July 2, 2023
Psalm 13 (Forward, p. 65) CEV p. 561
How our psalmist strikes a very familiar chord with many of us. We feel that things are not as should be and wonder just ‘how long’ it will be before God does something about it. It may be an illness or disability, a family or community issue, a dispute or problem within the church, or an issue facing the wider community, even the world. We wonder, sometimes silently, and sometimes out loud, just ‘how long’ it will take for some resolution or solution is reached. It seems, at least for now, as if God is inactive, ‘asleep at the wheel’, we might say.
Our psalmist, David, felt that way, and yet he did not give up on God. He continued praying to God, praising God and trusting in God. Here I am reminded of Job in his misery after he was struck down with a loathsome,
terrible disease, who said, ‘though he [meaning God] slay me, yet will I trust him” (Job 13:15). (Here he was not meaning a literal ‘slaying’, but misery and death from other means.). Or I think of the three youths, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that Nebuchadnezzar confined to the fiery furnace, who said to him, “The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace. But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). All these people were ready, prepared, to worship God and trust God, regardless of the circumstances, and regardless of whether God answered their prayers in quite the way that they wanted. It is a good lesson for all of us today. Amen.
Forward notes: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt with me richly; I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High” (verse 6).
“My sister once asked me, ‘How do you manage at work if you have a scheduling conflict with a church event?’ I told her that my boss knows I always carry out my duties, but she also knows that I am a Christian and church is a priority. I always tell my boss the truth, and so far, it has gone well. I do not worry about having my hours cut off. I know I am a valuable and reliable worker, and that too is a fruit of love.
“Giving ourselves to the way of faith presupposes letting go of things that may have restrained us for a long time. When we study the Word and trust in God, our faith turns into love—a boundless love. We then organize our lives around that love.
“We should praise God always, in good times and in bad times, and the Lord will reward us.”
MOVING FORWARD: “What is at the center of your life? Does it have anything to do with love?”