Focus
Slow your breathing and become aware of the taking in and letting out of your breath. Focus on putting things aside so you will be open to what God is saying to you today.
Read
Psalm 75
We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds.
2 At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady.Selah
4 I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with insolent neck.”
6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;
7 but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
9 But I will rejoice[a] forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
Reflect
According to Madeline L’Engle’s book Walking on Water, “The weary and war-torn world around us bears witness to the wrongness of many of our choices.” While her words refer to modern-day evils, they echo the lament of the psalmist when he refers to the quaking of the earth and all its people.
Recent anniversaries remind us of the world’s constant weariness and quaking: The bloodiest single-day battle of the Civil War fought at Antietam on September 17, 1862; Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939; the attack on the U. S. Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Nonetheless, the states eventually re-united, the Allied powers conquered the Axis powers, and the country showed a major effort to come together after 9-11.
In the midst of arrogance and wickedness, God’s in His heaven. It is He, not we, who remains the judge.
God assures the psalmist He has everything under control. Even when the world and all its people have turned to corruption and immorality, God holds us firmly in His hands.
Madeline L’Engle and the psalmist both attest that we see pain and war and horror as our constant companions in the world; but, more importantly, they also see God in ultimate control.
As for me, I will praise His name forever.
Pray
Dear God, help me to give you the praise you deserve and to keep your name ever near me. Even when the earth totters, I know you will be in control. Thank you for your steadfast love.
