Thursday, June 16, 2016

Today’s Reading  |  Psalm 29 

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
   worship the Lord in holy splendor.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
   the God of glory thunders,
   the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
   the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
   the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
   and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
   the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
   and strips the forest bare;
   and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
   the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
   May the Lord bless his people with peace! (NRSV)

Reflection
We wake each morning and move forward in our usual routine. The day ahead pulls us, and there is little time to think about anything beyond the demands of the day. I know there are days when I am not fully engaged until I find myself seated at my desk and responding to the emails from the few hours since I last responded.

Today, in the blessing our Fourth Church devotion brings, we are given the opportunity, through Psalm 29, for God to break into our lives. King David gives us several examples of the ways in which he noticed God breaking into his life. Psalm 8 is a meditation on the beauty of a moonlit night, Psalm 19 reflects on a beautiful sunny morning, and here we are in Psalm 29 in the power and strength of a mighty storm.

In ways I pray we cannot ignore we are reminded that God is in all the moments of our lives. We are told to give God glory and strength; we are told God shakes our lives and is with us in our challenges. We are told God will bless us with peace. Now, that is the way to start our day and the way to end our day!

Prayer
God of the thunder, God of the lightning, God of the only true peace—I give you praise and thanksgiving for the ways you break into my life. I pray you will guide me to notice, to pause, and to respond with a life that reflects trust in your strength and gift of peace. Amen.

Written by Sylvia Robertson, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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