Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We
give thanks to Rev. Richard Giesken, Adjunct Lecturer in Pastoral Theology and Missiology,
for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
Psalm 79
A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.
3 They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury the dead.
4 We are objects of contempt to our neighbours,
of scorn and derision to those around us.
5 How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your wrath on the nations
that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;
7 for they have devoured Jacob
and devastated his homeland.
8 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
Devotional
How Long Oh Lord?!
As I read this psalm, I am reminded of the devastation that fills the headlines. International conflicts, wars and cycles of violence forgotten or ignored by mainstream media. Countless lives ruined in the pursuit of ideology and global domination. Fear and self-interest crushing victims without thought of their humanity.
No wonder the psalmist cries out “How long, Lord?” No wonder he imagines God’s wrath poured out in fire and vengeance.
Sin is destroying our world, and this psalm acknowledges our part in it. It is easy to look at others and see how their actions are destructive. Sin is not only out there, it is also in here. How often have we been driven by fear, self-preservation, or selfishness and caused pain and left others wounded?
9 Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
Forgiveness is only the beginning. Without the deep healing of God’s Spirit, we will find ourselves forever meshed in the mire of sin – ours and that of others. Forgiveness does not ignore justice. We are in desperate need for the Kingdom of God – where justice and mercy meet, where swords are beaten into ploughshares, where every tear is wiped away.
This is the heart of holiness: God heals our brokenness, restores our hearts, and empowers us to live lives that move from fear and self-interest toward faith, love, and God’s glory.
Prayer
Triune God,
We bring before you the ruins of our world.
Father, see the bloodshed and hear the cries.
Son of God, who bore our violence, bring justice and reconciliation.
Holy Spirit, breathe shalom into the broken places.
Do not only forgive us, but transform us.
For your name’s sake, and for the healing of your world.
Amen.
Grace and peace,
Richard Giesken
Adjunct Lecturer (Pastoral Theology and Missiology)