Living in the Spirit
June 25, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Psalm 13 

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
   How long will you hide your face from me? 

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
   my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
 I will sing to the Lord,
   because he has dealt bountifully with me.—Psalm 13:1, 5-6

My alarm goes off at 6:00 am each morning, but I am always awake when that happens. I find the time between when I awake and my alarm goes off as a precious, quiet time to spend with God.  I go over my plans for the day, reshape then at times, remember the people or situations on my prayer list, and seek guidance on any response needed. Two mornings this week at a few minutes before 6:00 am, just before my alarm goes off and just before I close out my time with God, my whole house has been rattled by an earthquake.

We live in a tumultuous world. Yesterday tornadoes tore across the midlands, a terrorist army advanced into Iraq, and a young pregnant woman lost her baby in a domestic violence beating. It sure feels like the Lord has forgotten us. We long for control and we have none.

In times like these we need a Savior and the good news is that we have one. In the midst of storms and terror, we can cling to Jesus Christ and trust that God is working God’s purpose out.  God has not hidden God’s face from us. The question that we really need to consider is whether we are turning away from God?

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to:
Turn [our] eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace*. Amen.

*Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus by Helen H. Lemmel

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.