Today’s scripture: Psalm 53 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Robert Ferguson):
I wonder sometimes, what God thinks of us – me and you. I wonder if an all knowing, all seeing God is ever befuddled by us. I have had dogs that befuddle me sometimes.
When I open the back door for him to come in and eat his dinner. He has two options; he can either go around the dining room table or under the dining room table, out the other side and to his bowl. Ninety percent of the time he goes under the table. He’s so set in that routine that if the path that goes under the table is blocked, he gets stuck. I mean literally can’t move. Nothing is blocking his way around the table but he prefers to go under the table and if there is a chair or an obstacle in his way he just gets stuck. He literally cannot move! Now I am standing right there and watching all of this go down. I see the problem. We have wood floors in the kitchen and Maxx can’t get any traction on those wood floors. There is a rug under the dining room table which allows him to get his proper footing. So depending on my mood I either move his obstacle so that he can go under the table or I patiently help him along around the table so that he can get his footing together. Either way, Maxx always gets to his food. My point here is it seems we have a tendency to get stuck; afraid to move, paralyzed by fear of our circumstances or fear of the unknown. But just as I watch over Maxx as he struggles and I ry to help, God is always watching wondering why we never call on God.
As I read today’s verse I am moved by the knowledge that God isn’t making up our lives as they go along. God knew the end at the beginning. Our lives have been purposed and pre-ordained even before we were born. God knew. I don’t know about you but I find it comforting to know that even while I was being formed in my mother’s womb, God knew me. Our heavenly creator does not react to the circumstances that occur in our lives like we do. We have a tendency to get interrupted on this journey of life, distracted and thrown off course. It seems that we are wired to worry about the things of this world such as our careers, our bills, our children, our things! But the bible says that God is not human and does not lie. that he should lie (Numbers 23:19). And today as we read Psalm 53 God is saying, “I have fought your enemies for you. You are living in great fear (stuck!) when there is nothing to fear.”
God is not befuddled by you. God is not saying, “What am I going to do with that child of mine.” God is going to bless you today! The battle has been fought and won. This is why we can’t let the trivial bumps in the road get us off track and dissuade us from praising God. Your destiny is already planned out and you are destined to win! Perhaps you can’t always be happy about your history, maybe you aren’t overly excited about where you are right now, but every now and then you have to slip over into your future and say, “God, I thank you for where I’m going. I’m a child of destiny! And when its all said and done I might go all the way down to the bottom. Just wait on me, I’m coming back up again because what God has for me Is for me. I win!
Thought for the day: When you are stuck, CALL ON GOD!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.