Saturday, October 10, 2015

Today’s Reading  |  Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
   Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
   and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord! (NRSV)

Reflection
I am blessed to have a wonderful friend with whom I can share my faith. One Sunday, when we were singing “One Thing Remains” at the beginning of worship, my friend looked over at me with a huge smile and a few tears in her eyes. Afterwards I asked her what moved her. She said. “I used to listen to talk radio before work and just recently started playing Christian music. It has now carried over into my workday. It is amazing to me how much of a difference it makes in my day. This song is the one that I have been listening to for the past two weeks.”

I have always enjoyed contemporary Christian music but had never listened to it on a regular basis outside of church. So after seeing how great she felt, I decided that I would change up my music as well. So the next week, every morning while getting ready for work, I listened to that song. I am a hummer by nature; I love to hum and sing to myself all day. After listening to that song for two weeks every day, all day, I was humming those lyrics: “Your love never fails; it never gives up; it never runs out on me.” It gets into your consciousness and brings a huge sense of comfort. Rather than humming something from the radio, my singing has turned my thinking towards worship.

Psalm 117 declares the Lord’s faithfulness, proclaiming God’s lasting love. When I read “the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever,” I immediately thought of the lyrics I have been repeating in my head all week: “his love never runs out on me.” God so desperately wants us to think of and seek God during our days: how do we each make that effort? What will you and I do to make that happen?

Prayer
Lord, your love is great and unfailing. I pray that you help me never to overlook the little ways that you try to become a part of my day. Amen.

Written by Ashley Elskus, Director, Center for Life and Learning

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

Devotion index by date | I’d like to receive daily devotions by email