Friday 24th April | Ben Gurney
Readings
Reflection
One of the things I am immediately struck by in these two psalms is the incredible imagery throughout. David writes Psalm 57 when he is hiding from Saul and his armies in a cave of all places. He needs to stay put while a deadly force is raging around him. That sounds like a pretty apt description of what we have been asked to do with everything going on at the moment.
What is so amazing about David’s character, and his relationship with God, is that even through this time David is so sure of God’s incoming salvation that David feels called to worship even before he is saved. David is prophetically praising God for what he is certain He will do from what we know about God’s nature. This attitude and response feels strange but makes perfect sense when put into perspective with the miracles that God is capable of performing.
In Psalm 61, David is crying out for God to bring him back into His presence and security because God hasn’t yet and will never fail him as a place of refuge. Given all the stresses we can succumb to, having an unfailable sanctuary of rest and peace, that we know is waiting for us always, is incredibly reassuring and automatically makes me feel more relaxed.
Sharing testimonies is something I have always felt strongly about and Exodus 18 shows us the importance and significance of doing so. Verse 10 shows us that sharing your testimony with others helps their faiths to grow and assures you of your own faith. Speaking out the truth of what God has done for you brings it into the open and when you may doubt your own testimony others can remind you of your assurance and excitement that they saw. When you share or hear what God has done in your life or in the lives of those around you it stirs an automatic response to praise and worship our Father for what He has done for and through us.
As I’m sure people have spoken about, this is a great time to intentionally seek out encountering God’s presence and making it a daily need. We have been chosen by God and belong to Him, therefore we belong to purity, love, joy, hope. Since we came into relationship with Jesus these things should be growing inside of us as we grow in relationship with our Father and in likeness with Jesus.
Prayers
Father, thank you that in this time of physical isolation you are just as close as ever. Thank you that you welcome us into your arms and that we can turn to you as a place of refuge and security. Thank you for the community that you have put around us to encourage us and cheer us along in our walks with you.
We ask that your Holy Spirit will come and minister to us as we cry out for intimacy with You. We ask that as our relationships with you grow and develop, that in us we will grow more and more Christlike.
Thank you for that assurance we have in your consistency and that no trouble is too big fro you to conquer.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
Collect
Almighty Father,
You have given your only Son to die for our sins
And to rise again for our justification:
Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness
That we may always serve you
In pureness of living and truth;
Through the merits of your son Jesus Christ our Lord
Who is alive and reigns with you
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and for ever.
Amen.
