Thoughts for the Day

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
The dullard cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction for ever,
but you, O Lord, are on high for ever.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Verses)

Thoughts

I was thinking about how odd our world is at present, with the New Year bringing in a deadly blizzard that covered some eastern states in the US with temperatures dropping to -33 degrees celsius that killed a number of people including one man just by a bus shelter; then there was an earthquake measuring 7.1 that struck Tingri County in Tibet where hundreds were killed and injured; and then there were the fires that swept through Los Angeles in the US because of hurricane winds and tinder-dry conditions, that destroyed thousands of houses and killed a number of people. On top of this Australia has suffered high temperatures, extreme even for that country, while parts of Russia usually safe from very low temperatures have suffered the opposite. In Britain we have been 'inconvenienced', by snow, ice, and flooding, made worse by the same areas being hit again and again.

Like many people I have been wearing three layers of clothing as well as fingerless gloves to keep the heating costs down, and on looking at the icy road outside decided to stay indoors for yet another day. Then I glanced up. The sky was azure blue, and the white-covered frosty roofs were pristine and sparkling in the bright sunshine. The words before me from Psalm 92 were: "It is good to give thanks to the Lord....to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night... at the works of your hands I sing for joy."

God's world is wonderful. It is beautiful; intricate; astounding; and a source of great joy. Unfortunately we humans are destroying it, as the climate changes seem to prove. We need to continue to sing our praises to God, and thank him for our wonderful planet, but we also need to continue doing everything possible to reverses the damage we are doing to the world.

Father God,
we pray for our world today.
We pray for peace and hope to abound.
Many are affected by natural disasters:
floods, droughts and forest fires.
Many are struggling with conflict,
poverty and the global food crisis.
O Lord, we pray for your provision,
peace and protection.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.

(Prayer by 'Compassion: Releasing children from poverty')