"Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame?
How long will you love vain works and seek after lies?
But know that the Lord has set apart the fiathful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
When you are disturbed, do not sin;
Ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
Offer right sacrifices,
And put your turst in the Lord.
There are many who say, 'O that we might see some good!'
Let the light of your face shin on us, O Lord'
You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grains and wine abound.
I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord,
make me lie down in safety."
**Questions to ponder**
Is it easier, more natural or understandable to sin when you are disturbed?
This Psalm has both singular and plural pronouns, meaning that it was writen to be used in public worship and in private/family devotional times. Think about a time when a group of people (corporate) suffered shame? Think about a time when you personally or your family undwent something "shameful." Did this experience drive you into the arms of God?
It is natural for us to try to make sense out of our tragedies. It was no different for the one who wrote this Psalm. William Willimon says that this question "what is God doing in this situation" is what we are taught to ask as Christians and it is generally what we should ask (God) ourselves. Yet, sometimes there is no good answer to the great "WHY" question.
Is there comfort in this Psalm for those unanswered WHY questions? What does the Psalmist do with those questions?
Saturday, April 25, 2009
A couple thoughts about my trip to New Mexico
Being with my mom after her surgery was very interesting. The nurse in the post-op room told her directly, "YOU are not the boss!!" Pointing to me she says, "SHE is the boss!!" The jolt of happiness that ran through my blood is yet another piece of evidence proving that I prefer being in control. As I have mentioned here before, I am a recovering control freak...at least I know I have a problem!?
My mom hated that I was the boss and she is such a control freak that she would often catch herself in the middle of a bossy comment and say "yeah, I know I'm telling you what to do and you are suppose to be the boss, but I'm used to being the boss." I would also frequently catch her doing something that was off limits or highly questionable without supervision and she would get that look on her face like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. It was at times very annoying and delightful. I was very patient most of time and only had a few moments when I thought I might crack.
Her shoulder is fine. The surgeon was not able to repair her tendon around the rotator cuff like he had hoped cause it was too far gone. He cleaned up a lot of scar tissue and filed down a bone spur. She is very dedicated to recovering and is doing her physical therapy religiously. For those of you who were praying for her, THANKS!!!!
Along the way, I did finish 3 more books. I am reconsidering the goal of 90 books. I wanted to challenge myself and yet, I might have shot the moon. I may re-adjust the goal to be 90- 100 page books. For instance, the book that I most recently completed is not a thin, just for fun read, John Stott's Incomparable Christ (250 pages). It is just simply not right to commit to reading 90 such books. I could also adapt it to reading only children's books, but that would altogether defeat the purpose of this that being a challenge and enjoyable all at the same time. So, if you have any objection about me adjusting my count accordingly, please write me a comment and I will take it under advisement.
My mom hated that I was the boss and she is such a control freak that she would often catch herself in the middle of a bossy comment and say "yeah, I know I'm telling you what to do and you are suppose to be the boss, but I'm used to being the boss." I would also frequently catch her doing something that was off limits or highly questionable without supervision and she would get that look on her face like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. It was at times very annoying and delightful. I was very patient most of time and only had a few moments when I thought I might crack.
Her shoulder is fine. The surgeon was not able to repair her tendon around the rotator cuff like he had hoped cause it was too far gone. He cleaned up a lot of scar tissue and filed down a bone spur. She is very dedicated to recovering and is doing her physical therapy religiously. For those of you who were praying for her, THANKS!!!!
Along the way, I did finish 3 more books. I am reconsidering the goal of 90 books. I wanted to challenge myself and yet, I might have shot the moon. I may re-adjust the goal to be 90- 100 page books. For instance, the book that I most recently completed is not a thin, just for fun read, John Stott's Incomparable Christ (250 pages). It is just simply not right to commit to reading 90 such books. I could also adapt it to reading only children's books, but that would altogether defeat the purpose of this that being a challenge and enjoyable all at the same time. So, if you have any objection about me adjusting my count accordingly, please write me a comment and I will take it under advisement.
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