Today’s Readings: 2 Samuel 22, Galatians 2, Ezekiel 29, Psalm 78:1-37
2 Samuel 22
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 78
In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath
and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
Sometimes, when I’m writing for Bible Journal I copy down pieces of the day’s scripture in my little notebook. Throughout the week I go back to those groups of words and draw lines of meaning between them. There are endless ways to read God’s word. That’s why it’s truly His greatest gift to us. Even if you’ve read a certain verse over and over, on any given day it may take on new meaning in your life. Today, as I built a visual map of my post I realized that the verses that speak to me the most are the very first lines and last lines of our Bible reading plan. The message is so simple. It speaks to our fallibility and human nature. In the first reading from second Samuel we hear these familiar words:
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer…” (2 Samuel 22:2)
And we know the rest…it fills our sails. God is our rock, our refuge, our stronghold and our shield. We need these words. We get through our hardest moments with these words whispered under our breath. When I’m alone with our son and he is in pain, when there is nothing I can do to make it go away, I say these words. But in spite of all of this, I still sin. Psalm 78 is about me. It’s about you, and the guy next to you drinking his morning coffee. Our days are actually vanishing like a breath. When we get into trouble, of course we repent and we run to Him. There are times when we seek him earnestly. There are times when our hearts are not as steadfast as they should be. We are not always faithful to our covenant with Him. In spite of it all we are still going to sin. Despite the miracles and wonders he performs in our lives, we still falter. I spent some time this weekend traveling for work. I used some of that time to write down the wonders God has created in my life. I also wrote down some times that I wasn’t as faithful as I wish I could be. Some times when I questioned his presence in my life and even questioned if he was punishing me. Finally, I took the time to hand write the first four verses of second Samuel 22. Taking this time to just write God’s word brings me closer to Him. It helps me to see the lines he’s drawing and connecting in my life. Connecting our beginnings and endings help us to see His grace. I pray that you’ll consider taking time this week to write down the times He’s been your rock, your refuge, your stronghold and your shield. Connect His word to your heart!