Listen

I’m fully satisfied— as with a rich dinner.

My mouth speaks praise with joy on my lips— whenever I ponder you on my bed, whenever I meditate on you in the middle of the night— because you’ve been a help to me and I shout for joy in the protection of your wings.

My whole being clings to you; your strong hand upholds me.

Psalm 63:5-8

Think

Today’s scripture names God as a help and protector, a place of calm refuge in an uncertain world. As someone who can struggle to find enough quiet and peace to sleep, I relate to the image of meditating and pondering in the middle of the night.

In those times, if I allow my mind to rush along with the stream of worry, I may find myself solving problems that do not yet exist or agonizing over things I cannot change. But when I instead let my heart rest on moments of peace and even joy from the day, I discover much to be grateful for. I can feel my heart and mind resting in peace and joy, even in the middle of my own uncertainty and wonderings.

In those middle-of-the-night moments, we all are invited to choose to let our hearts rest in God’s peace, rather than flow down a stream of confusion and anxiety. May our minds remember this truth when our world feels strange and chaotic.

Paris Ball

Pray

Lord God, your deep love and care is a shelter in the midst of a life that sometimes feels full of twists and turns.

Thank you for your presence and protection, through times of ease and times of challenge.

Stay with me today.

Amen.

Go

O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Spread his praise from shore to shore;
how he loveth, ever loveth,
changeth never, nevermore;
how he watches o’er his loved ones,
died to call them all his own;
how for them he intercedeth,
watcheth o’er them from the throne.

S. Trevor Francis in “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus” (1890)