Thoughts for the Day

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.

One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock...

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’
Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
O God of my salvation!

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

To come out of our local Sainsbury's shop you have to descend a long, steep, escalator. So one busy Saturday morning a father was trying to encourage his young son to step onto the escalator, but he wasn't winning. The boy, aged about four years old, just said "It might leave me behind!" His mother promptly stepped on the escalator and was soon halfway down. The howls from the boy were immediate. "I said it would leave me behind!"

We often have irrational fears when we're young but they don't always go away as we get older. We don't know what situation faced David at the time Psalm 27 was written, and while there are elements of hope and trust in it eg he speaks of being hid in God's "shelter" and "under the cover of his tent", yet there is a nervousness about phrases like "whom shall I fear", and "whom shall I be afraid". While David trusts in God to rescue him, he also worries that he might lose his life. It's like a child (or adult) saying over and over again "I will be ok! I will be ok!" Faith's opponent is not doubt in this instance, it's worry! David has faith in God, but his mind is full of worry and "What if's?"

Many Christians have faith in God, but cannot help but worry that the cancer will return, or they may be made redundant, or they have got dementia! At such times they may need to rely on others to remember that God is with us yesterday, today, and tomorrow. When anxiety and stress get in the way of our faith we need to repeat over and over again the opening words of Psalm 27: "The Lord is my light and my salvation" until our minds clear. Oh and the boy on the escalator, well he too relied on another - on the strong arms of his father, and made it to the bottom of the escalator, safely.

Lord Jesus Christ,
we pray for faithful Christians
bowed under the stress of worry.
May they be relieved of stress
and see their way more clearly once again.
Give us the strength to put down anxious thoughts
when life is difficult;
to trust totally in Your plans for our life;
and in the lives of those for whom we pray.
Amen.