A meditation on the Psalm appointed for Sunday, Oct. 30 (Revised Common Lectionary)
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, those he redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south...
When you think of intensely stressful situations one might need to be redeemed from, a desert war zone would come quickly to mind. But sometimes anxiety and distress can seem more intense to us in locations and situations that otherwise are quite normal and everyday.
Freelance photojournalist Ken Paprocki was on assignment in Afghanistan during the height of the early conflict there. Several times he found himself in the middle of rocket attacks. He accompanied night patrols in extremely dangerous areas where insurgents were known to be active. It was a life of unexpected roadblocks, unknown environments and cultures, unrelieved anxiety about what might happen next.
But what really surprised him was the level of stress he experienced after he returned home to the States. "It was like going from a camel's lope to riding a rocket. I felt fear in Afghanistan, but I was rarely worried. My only preoccupation was getting my shot and finding an Internet connection to send it off. But in New York, life is so utterly complicated that we are drowning in our daily regimen of tasks: networking, drumming up business, helping friends with meltdowns, dealing with family problems, having to shoehorn fitness into the day, having to call tech support just to watch a DVD" ("The Age of Anxiety," Details, p. 135).
I'm sure you can relate to the level of distress he's talking about -- whether you've been to Afghanistan or not. We may think it's a modern phenomenon, but it's not. The Israelites experienced soul-fainting distress thousands of years ago in a desert not far from where Paprocki was assigned.
Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; he led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town...
Their lives had been turned upside down as they wandered, desperate for food and water, agonized by their plight. But God heard them and delivered them to safety.
He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in; they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield...
That's a beautiful word picture of a life provisioned by the generous mercies of God. Take it literally, take it figuratively, it's possible only with God's deliverance from the stressful and distressing circumstances of life -- wherever we may be.
When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble and sorrow ... he raises up the needy out of distress, and makes their families like flocks. The upright see it and are glad; and all wickedness stops its mouth. Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
Paprocki found ways to cope with the many distresses in the desert of modern life. Around his busy career he practices yoga, exercises, does whatever it takes to gain a measure of peace before the stress hits again. "I accept that worry's part of the price of living an exciting, interesting life."
That's what we want, right? An exciting and interesting life? There is a price to pay for that in the form of some level of stress and anxiety.
But know that there is a God whose "steadfast love endures forever." A God who stands ready to hear your cry for relief, for healing, and for peace in the midst of it all. A God who is ready to deliver.
Adapted from the book 'Connected: You and God in the Psalms' (Morehouse Publishing, 2009).
Follow Rev. Peter M. Wallace on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pwallace
Psalm 107 NIV - BOOK V Psalms 107 150 Give thanks to - Bible ...
Mat 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
Mat 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Mat 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Mat 14:29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
Mat 14:30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Mat 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Heb 12:18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
Heb 12:19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
Heb 12:20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
Heb 12:21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Mat 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
Mat 8:23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
Mat 8:24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
Mat 8:25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
Mat 8:26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
Mat 8:27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!.
The Bible appears to suggest that pursuing such intimacy with and leadership by God in much the same way that a panting deer seeks water appears to, at least, be reasonably expected to result in that awesome presence of God as the standard, rather than the exception.
I welcome your thoughts.
Acts 17:23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Acts 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Acts 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
( what he said :)
I find that expecting discourtesy each day, and identifying the areas in which I am powerless blunts the stress. God has given us the ability to be in the moment, and not be a product of the moment. We can choose to be a function of our God given essence in unpleasant circumstances.
"Act, or be acted upon."
I humbly and respectfully submit the apparently reasonable perspective that the human organon appears to not claim full understanding of the origins of human thought, including the full relationship and distinction between human decision-making and human reflex. The Bible, however, appears to suggest that:
(a) the human individual is God-created,
(b) the human individual’s responsibility is to primarily seek intimate relationship with and leadership by God, and that
(c) God “writesâ€, or perhaps, “establishes†a certain amount of the human thought.
The Bible appears to not suggest the amount of the human thought process that God “writesâ€. However, such knowledge, except, perhaps, for curiosity’s sake, appears to be of little consequence to the human, since such “writing†by God appears to be the purview of God. The Bible appears to suggest that the human individual is responsible for seeking intimate relationship with and leadership by God.
I welcome your thoughts.