Thoughts for the Day

Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting...

He heals the broken-hearted,
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
he casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre.
He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Be honest now! How often do we consider God from a selfish point of view? For instance we urgently need His help, and we expect Him just to give us what we want, with the odd 'please' thrown in, and when it doesn't happen we can even moan at Him! Now look again at the words of scripture above. This is a psalm that looks at the vast scale of what God actually does - He determines the number of the stars, yet He heals the broken hearted. He covers the heavens with clouds, yet He lifts up the down-trodden; He prepares rain for the earth, yet He is concerned about young ravens. Whatever we believe about how God created our world the Psalmist knows that God is still intimately involved in His creation.

But even more importantly is how the Psalmist also looks at what God wants, rather than just what he wants. In his world the man who could breed the best war horse was likely to live the longest, and those who were fit and could run the fastest would probably also do well. Both would be feted by their peers and upheld as good examples. In the same way today, we praise those men and women who achieve great sporting success ecstatically welcoming them back from their triumphs, and at the same time we laud pop stars that headline music festivals.

But ultimately the Psalmist says, these are not the kind of standards that concern God. Instead God takes pleasure in those who invite Him into their lives, who seek to obey His commands to love Him and all people, and who hope in His plans for their future. Perhaps its time to think about our priorities once again!

Lord God,
may we learn to get our priorities right,
giving less concern to the world's standards
and more to Your wishes.
Help us to balance our priorities,
allowing worldly concerns to step back a little
and Your desires for our life to come forward,
so that we may continue in the right path
that leads to eternal life.
Amen.