Prayer: Help us, Lord, to find in hard times a purpose for the pain and understanding out of experience. Amen.
Reading: Psalm 31:9-16 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: For I am in distress. We’ve been in isolation, trying to protect ourselves and others from exposure to the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. Even though our reasons for quarantining are sound, there is an opportunity in this to imagine what true ostracization must feel like. For some around the world, loneliness is imposed by others. Contemplate those who, like the speaker of this Psalm, feel the scorn of all, rejected by community and society for their belief in the Lord. When in our country would we feel such a reality? Often, we are called on to consider this situation but rarely have we been given such a concrete example for experiencing even a slice of that sorrow. Read this Psalm again. Add to the last verse gratitude for knowing God, thanks for the assurance of Jesus’ love, and a prayer for the Holy Spirit to dwell with those who live in places where the loneliness of this pandemic is nothing new. Sense the empathy God provides and pray for your fellow humankind. --Heather LeBlanc
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
Anyone is welcome to contribute! If you'd like to write for us, please e-mail [email protected] Email
Get our daily devotions delivered to your e-mail box each day by signing up below:
Archives
May 2022
Subscribe |