Devotional 4-2-14

Psalm 130 from The Message:

Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life! Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!  Listen to my cries for mercy.
If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that’s why you’re worshiped.
I pray to God—my life a prayer—and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning. 
O Israel, wait and watch for God—with God’s arrival comes love, with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel, buy back Israel from captivity to sin.

Preparing for this devotional, I read each of the lectionary texts.  The story of Lazarus is powerful, but this verse seemed to pull me back again and again.  I was reminded of how powerful the grace of God can be in our lives.

There have been times in my life, and yours as well, I imagine, when the burdens of the day felt far too heavy to lift.  I can hardly believe that twenty-three years have passed since I lost my dad.  When that happened, I was so angry, I couldn’t really pray, let alone listen for answers.  As the years passed, my anger thankfully gave way to forgiveness.  Now, when I pray looking to God for help, I do not always find an answer that makes sense.  Many times, the answer we seek is not necessarily the direct answer to our problem, but the opportunity to learn from the situation or problem that we face.  Instead of looking for the direct or “easy” answer, we must have faith and understand that through grace God will show is the way.

As we travel though life today, take time to pray and listen for God.  His methods may not always make sense on the surface, but as we continue to listen, the answers will be revealed through Grace and Love.

Dear Lord, Help us to pray and listen.  Help us to put our angers and imperfections aside so we can listen for the Grace that you so freely share. Help us to pe patient was we watch and listen for you to share your Grace and Love. Amen

Hulse Budd