Thoughts for the Day

To you, O Lord, I call;
my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
towards your most holy sanctuary.

Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbours,
while mischief is in their hearts...

Blessed be the Lord,
for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Thinking back over your life, have you ever felt so weak that you needed to rely on someone else's strength to continue? A good relationship, and in particular perhaps, a good marriage can be like this. You lean on the other one when life is difficult, and they can do the same when things change for them. So it is that losing a partner to lean on and becoming self-sufficient can be one of the hardest things to bear.

We do not know the cause for the psalmist's cry to God for help, but he fears thar God's judgement will sweep him away "to the pit" (possible Sheol or some deeper part of what we might call 'hell') along with those who are wicked. Has he committed some wrong that makes him doubt that God will rescue him? We don't know! This kind of spiritual battle within us can occur at any time, but like the psalmist we need to quell our doubts and weaknesses, and lean on God, relying on the strength of His promises.

A song which sums this theme up is Josh Groban's 'You raise me up'. It was originally written by the Irish-Norwegian duo 'Secret Garden', and was an instrumental song. It was given words by Irish singer, Brian Kennedy. The lyrics say it all:

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be.

As Christians we can celebrate these words. When we are weak, God is strong. As our reading from Psalm 28 says: "The Lord is my strength", and even more than that, we read: "The Lord is the strength of his people".

Lord God,
when I feel weak or stressed;
when I am depressed or tired;
when life seems too hard to continue,
and when loneliness is hard to bear,
lift me up,
be my strength,
and the strength of all your people.
Amen.