Saturday, January 18, 2025  

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Today's Scripture
Psalm 36:5–20

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart! (NRSV)

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Reflection

I am hesitant to name a more powerful tool than editing. Editing written communication leads to greater clarity. Editing verbal communication, preferably before delivering it, can lead to less misunderstanding and unintended impact. But do we edit our communication with God? It sure is tempting to believe I can craft a prayer to God that deletes my less Godly thoughts.

This section of Psalm 36 is filled with soaring language for God. It claims God’s faithfulness, righteous and steadfast love. On my best days, I can craft words of praise like this. Well, maybe not that poetic, but I can find words of praise. Take a moment, get out your Bible, and look at the first four verses of this psalm — the verses that aren’t included in this passage. Those verses have a lot to say about the wicked. Oh boy! I can definitely deliver those types of words about people I consider wicked.

Do I try to hide that part of me from God? When I am tempted, Psalm 139 creeps in. It says “O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.” The God who knows my innermost thoughts, even those I want to edit out, still loves me.

There is no asterisk to God’s steadfast love. It is not because of who I am but because of who God is. And I’ve found the more honest I can be in my relationships, the deeper the relationship becomes. When I am honest about my innermost thoughts, I am more likely to seek the origin and work toward healing. My heart and actions grow closer to being what God dreams for the world.

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Prayer
O God, your steadfast love is incomparable. I trust that. Help me to stop editing the parts of me that I show to you. Let me trust your love so that, in my raw honesty, I grow closer to your heart. Amen.

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Written by Andrea Denney, Executive Director of Operational Ministries

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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