Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Today’s Reading  |  Psalm 93   

The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty;
   the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength.
He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
   your throne is established from of old;
   you are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
   the floods have lifted up their voice;
   the floods lift up their roaring.
More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
   more majestic than the waves of the sea,
   majestic on high is the Lord!

Your decrees are very sure;
   holiness befits your house,
   O Lord, forevermore. (NRSV)

Reflection
Majesty. Stability. Faithfulness. Holiness. These are qualities of God described in this psalm, and they are things we often long for in our lives.

As I write this, there is serious flooding happening in Louisiana, with many people losing their homes and everything they have owned. Here in Chicago we are not suffering the same losses, but many of us have experienced other losses, some of them life-shattering.

In the face of loss, we all grieve, and rightfully so. We wail, we lament with the psalmists. Some of us use our voices, and some of us do it in the quiet of our trembling hearts. Where is God in all of this? How can we remember God’s faithfulness, or find God’s stability, or see God’s majesty, or feel God’s holiness?

Maybe we can find it in some mountaintop experience we remember, or maybe we find it in many little things: a child’s laughter, a stranger’s smile, a beloved’s touch, the blue of the tremendous lake on the shores of our city, the vastness of the sky.

Or maybe we can find God in the deepest recesses of our soul, when we turn within in a spirit of love. Maybe we can feel God’s great love for us when we allow ourselves to feel our own love: for God, for God’s world, for other people created in God’s image.

What happens when you begin to offer your own love to all that God loves? In your prayer, see how many things you can love.

Prayer
God, your love is stronger than the mighty waters of the sea, stronger than the waters of floods, stronger than anything I know in this life. Wanting to share in your love, I offer my love today. I love you. I love . . . Thank you for your unshakeable love. Amen.

Written by Nanette Sawyer, Minister for Congregational Life

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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