Thoughts for the Day

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
so I shall be saved from my enemies.

The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

He reached down from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of mighty waters.

For who is God except the Lord?
And who is a rock besides our God?—
the God who girded me with strength,
and made my way safe.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Now, all right, the 'chords of death' weren't encompassing me, but that summer when I was 20 years old and living in Cyprus, I had never been so scared. I could think of nothing else! I couldn't get out of it, not least because there was no-one else to stand in for me. I had survived one event thanks to a valium pill and some brandy (no-one told me you shouldn't mix them!), but this was a bigger occasion. I had never prayed so hard. I wouldn't take the valium or the brandy, if I could do it once then I could do it again, with God's help.

That night I wore a full-length ivory-brocade dress, my long hair in complicated swirls designed by the Cypriot girls at the hairdressers, and as I stepped out onto the floor of the 1st century Roman amphitheatre at Salamis, a single light was trained on me. The thousands of people were totally silent, even the 9th Signal Regiment Band (with their canons for the 1812 Overture!) made no sound. All I could hear was the sigh of the waves on the nearby beach. I took a deep breath, opened my mouth and sang my solo from 'Merry England' - no tremors, no high notes missed. I have little memory of this, other than I felt upheld and confident that God had given me the voice and was supporting me!

Psalm 18 is a paean of praise by David when he has defeated all his enemies, but he acknowledges that he could not have succeeded without God. With God beside him; with God beneath him - as a rocky fortress - he overcame all obstacles.

Think back, when did you feel upheld by God at a moment of total panic or terror, then thank Him?

Lord God,
thank You for the times
that You have supported and upheld us,
when life was difficult.
Help us never forget to turn to You
in our hour of need,
or to thank You for Your intervention,
whatever that may be.
Amen.