Trusting God
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
-Psalm 46:1-3
Trusting God is not always easy. There have been many times in my life when I struggled to see God’s work in the world. This Sunday, I celebrate my 50th birthday. (Feel free to wear sparkles and sequins!) As I reflect on a half-century of life, I can look back and recount so many occasions when I was anxious and afraid of situations that God was working together for good. But it didn’t feel very good at the time.
The Psalmist reminds us that “God is our refuge and strength”. Even when the world feels like it is falling apart, God is present and provides for our needs. When was a time in your life when you felt God show up just at the right time? When have you seen God bestow a blessing or protection to someone you love in the perfect instant they needed it? Psalm 146 is one of my favorites because it reminds me to put my trust in God. “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—He remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.” (Psalm 146:3-6)
God shows up and provides in His time, not mine.
This fall, we will practice sharing our stories of faith. Occasionally we will hear from the Elders and Deacons in worship. We might even practice sharing a “God sighting” with our neighbors in church. God has given you a wonderful story to tell! Please join us in worship this fall as we share our own inspiring stories of faith.
Holy Love, first and last, you offer yourself to us completely and call us to your life. Yet we are afraid, for your Way demands much of us. We confess that we are often quick to judge and slow to forgive. We confess that we choose that which does not satisfy, even as you offer us abundant life. When our fear overrides your call, forgive us. When we act from our own limited love rather than your expansive grace, forgive us. Reach down to us again, lift us up as a mother lifts a child to her cheek. Cast out our fear and fill us with the breath of your Spirit, that we may live the love we see in your Son, Jesus the Christ, in whose perfect name we pray. Amen.
Psalm 146
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—
He remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
