WATCHWORD:
God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life. Psalm 23, Message.
Meditation:
Thy Will Be Done
How do you pray? Do you pray as Jesus did: “If it be thy will, take this cup from me”, or do you skip the first part, about ‘thy will, and go right to the second, take this cup, this fear, this uncertainty from me. Lord, it’s uncomfortable. Help me.
Murray Bodo wrote a story entitled The Widows Son, about a young boy who is left alone each day by his working mother. They live in a house high on a bluff, overlooking the ocean. Each day, after the mother goes to work, the boy, fascinated by the ocean, gets closer and closer to the cliff that drops down to the water. Then, one day, the boy reaches the bottom of the rocks and stands facing the sea. He undresses and jumps into the shallow water letting the gentle waves play on him.
But, as the tide begins to come in, and the boy’s fun changes into worry, then, as the waves get higher the boy begins to panic. He searches, without success for the way he had come down. He finds no handhold, no foothold, no way to rescue himself from the tide that now washes over his legs and the boy knew that in a few minutes he would be swept off his feet and carried out to sea. He made one last desperate plunge through the water and stretched out his hands for something, anything to cling to. And his hand meets the warm hand of a fisherman reaching down to him. Rescued!
Is that us? In our desperation, in our inner discomfort, in our fear, do we make one last desperate plea to the fisherman, to Our Father who art in Heaven, or perhaps The Lord is my Shepherd? Of course, we do. He is our Father, our Lord and Savior, our Shepherd, the One we trust, the One we place all of our faith in. And, it is right and proper that we do that. How often have we lifted up our hearts, seeking reassurance and we restate the basis of our own security with prayers that are in our mind. He is the foundation of our security: Our Crucified and Resurrected Jesus Christ, Yahweh, Holy God, the Rock our faith and our security. So, Precious Savior, if it be thy will, take this from me…” Amen.
Closing Prayer:
Oh, Lord, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: If it be thy Will, defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin or run into any danger, and that guided by your spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
