Thoughts for the Day

Your decrees are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
With open mouth I pant,
because I long for your commandments.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your custom towards those
who love your name.
Keep my steps steady according to your promise,
and never let iniquity have dominion over me....
Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.

(New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Can you remember helping a small child to walk? Maing the path safe for them, and being ready to stop them falling if at all possible! It can be the same at the other end of life, when we are elderly and are also unsteady on our feet. I remember clearing the toys on the floor away for my mother who had had a stroke so that she could walk with her stick to the door. She would take a semi-circle across the room, rather than a straight line. The trouble was on the way back because of her eyesight, she would return on the other side of the room, and complain that we had just moved all the toys since she left!

Psalm 119 here looks at the way that God keeps our steps steady. If we take note of His promises, and obey His commands - things like praising God, and truly loving one another, looking for peaceful solutions to problems, and seeking justice for all etc - then He will give us strength to cope with the obstacles in our life and guide us across the uneven places. He doesn't promise to remove everthing in our way, but the psalmist knows that He has our good at heart.

Wedesday 15th July, follow up thoughts

Lord God,
as the psalmist knew
Your word is a light to our path.
Guide us in all that we do
so that we may walk safely
amid the perils of this world,
and learn to trust
that Your path is the best
for us to follow.
Amen.