Saturday March 28, 2009

Saturday

March 28, 2009

Scripture

Psalm 31

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.

² Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.

³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

⁴ Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.

⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

⁶ I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I trust in the LORD.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.

⁸ You have not handed me over to the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.

⁹ Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and my body with grief.

¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction, ^[a]
and my bones grow weak.

¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I am a dread to my friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.

¹² I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.

¹³ For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side;
they conspire against me
and plot to take my life.

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."

¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.

¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.

¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and lie silent in the grave. ^[b]

¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.

²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from the intrigues of men;
in your dwelling you keep them safe
from accusing tongues.

²¹ Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed his wonderful love to me
when I was in a besieged city.

²² In my alarm I said,
"I am cut off from your sight!"
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.

²³ Love the LORD, all his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but the proud he pays back in full.

²⁴ Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.

Reflection

We have all faced some type of hardship at some point in our lives. Some times in our lives we tend to hide, avoid, or even run from something that is troubling us in our lives. Instead these verses remind us how important it is to pray, and cry out to the Lord when we are going through any suffering. God is there for us even when it seems he is the most distant in our lives due to what we are experiencing in life. Prayer reconnects us with Christ because he knows our pain and sufferings. Prayer reminds us God is always there for us. He is willing to listen no matter what we are going through. David cries out to the Lord for help, which we should do more often in our lives.

Through this scripture we are reminded when we are going through a difficult time we need to stop what we are doing and to seek refuge in God above. Christ is the only one that can set us free from whatever we are dealing with. If we seek God then he will give us the strength we need to face our sufferings. He will set us free from our pain by granting us the courage to make it through. Even though it might not seem like it, the times we are our at our weakest are the times we tend to be the closest to God.

We must ask for guidance. It is important to put out trust in him because he will pull us out of our difficult times. When we face the troubles around us in this world, we tend to get side tracked of the ultimate truth which leads us to look elsewhere for our strength. But David reminds us that we must not look towards anything except the ultimate truth, which is found in Christ’s love.

At times we might feel broken, but that is what Christ’s love is here for. He is here for us during our sufferings to piece us back together again to make us whole and a new. Even if it seems like the world around us is against us and there is no one else we can turn to, God is always here for us. His love for us never changes. He hears our calls for mercy when we cry out but we have to be willing to cry out to him. Our faith assures us that God is always there for us by reminding us what he has done for us in our past he will do for us in our present by pulling us through our hardships, and will continue to do for us in the future. As Christians, we are never alone. God always is with us and protects us in all we do by empowering us to have the strength we need to make it through the day.

We as Christians must put our hope in the Lord for the future that has yet to come. Hope is what will shine through the clouds on a cloudy day to help us make it through. And it is our faith that will lead us to defeat of our suffering. God will give us the courage to make it through anything. We are reminded of this also in 1^st Corinthians 10:13, which reminds us God will NEVER let us be pushed past our limits, and will pull us out of our sufferings!!

PRAYER: God grant me the strength and the wisdom to fully rely on you no matter what I am going through. Help me realize you will help me get through anything even when it seems impossible to go on. When I am struggling help remind me you will never leave me, and love me no matter what. I thank you for helping me out of my sufferings and always being here for me no matter what. Help me find the courage to make it through the days when I’m struggling the most. Thank you for your mercy. Amen.

Written by a PC Junior

Please pray for:

Spectrum Alliance