Thoughts for the Day

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
Tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered,

He is the Lord our God;
his judgements are in all the earth.
He is mindful of his covenant for ever,
of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Who is your 'go to person' when you need help, or advice, or something done? Most of us have a special person that we naturally use to share ideas. Who is the person that you immediately turn to when you have good news? We're simply not isolated individuals and prefer where possible to collaborate or come together with others, if only to confirm our own thoughts. When we've lived with another person for many years, that desire to talk is what people miss most when their loved one dies. Living alone with no-one to chew over the problems or to help make decisions is difficult, although often other members of the family will help.

Psalm 105 reminds us to turn to God, to "call on his name", to "sing praises to him", to "seek the Lord and his strength", and to "seek his presence continually". God should be our 'go to person', not just when things are difficult, but also when things are going well. Our hearts, heads and voices should sing praises to Him when we have good news. He should be the first to turn to for advice or for help. Even while our fingers are scrolling our mobile phone for information surely our brain can be turning to God? Sometimes only His strength can solve our problem or ease our discomfort.

Seeking God is to turn to Him as we would turn and face someone speaking to us. It's to give Him all our attention - to tune out the other voices, give Him space in our daily life, and to listen out for an answer!

Heavenly Father,
help us to remember
that you are there 24-7,
not just when we are worried or scared,
but also on the good days
when we are confident,
and want to share our news,
or relive our memories.
May we turn to You expectantly
knowing You care for us
and will answer.
Amen.