Lent
February 10, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
   so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
   the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

Those who love me, I will deliver;
   I will protect those who know my name.
When they call to me, I will answer them;
   I will be with them in trouble,
   I will rescue them and honor them.
With long life I will satisfy them,
   and show them my salvation. –Psalm 91:11-16

I have dashed my foot against the stone and it hurt. Left me with a permanent scar. So what is the Psalmist trying to tell us here? God is neither Superman or Supergirl. We have probably all longed for a caped avenger swooping down from the sky to lift us out of the muck and mire in which we find ourselves. Sometimes we are there as a result of our own miss steps, sometimes we are caught unaware by outside forces over which we have no control, and sometimes we are paying the price for society’s ills that we all have ignored and failed to correct.

When we place our trust in God, love God, the Lord always answers. I have been very frustrated lately sending emails that I think require a response to help me know how to continue on a project and I get no responses. Now I am trying to figure out if my messages are getting through but my first thought was that they just were not being answered. This can certainly happen with God. I think though more often than not, I have so much noise going on in my head that I could not hear God’s answer when God makes it.

What the Psalmist promises is that God’s abiding presence is always with us and will always be with us. When we turn the noise down we just might hear the response. More often than not, the response is guidance in how we can change to effect a better outcome in what we are trying to accomplish.

Prayer: God of Mercy, forgive me when I play my anger, frustration, hurt feelings, and more, so loudly I cannot comprehend your guidance. Help me turn that noise down and listen more intently for your voice. Amen.

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.