Morning by morning
God wakens my ear
so my tongue may learn
to sustain weary souls
with a word.
What word, Lord?
Persevere?
Submit?
Endure?
Those who speak
hope to the weary—
“Come to me, all you who
labor and are heavy-burdened…”
for “I have a dream…”—
are liable
to humiliation,
torment,
death…
vindication!
Waken my ear…
teach my tongue…
help my spirit, O Lord,
that I may speak a word
and not be put to shame.
—Judith Boogaart
Psalm 107 is entitled “Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles.” Beginning in verse 17 the request to God is for healing from sickness. When we think about healing, the questions that come to mind are: Who is, who isn’t, and why?
Five years after our son’s death, my husband, Jim, set down some of his thoughts on healing and prayer. His second insight on healing says, “Even in the days of Jesus’ ministry, the people healed represented no more than a small fraction of the population. For every sufferer made whole, there must have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, left untouched. God has power to heal, declares the New Testament; but it is silent on how the healed were chosen from among a sea of sufferers.”
I feel that secret is hidden deep in the heart of God. So, we must be content to leave it there. Frederick Buechner was right when he said, “If God doesn’t seem to be giving you what you ask, maybe he’s giving you something else.”
The one thing I do know is that God does not abandon us. In Romans 8:38–39 we are promised that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.
Recently I read a lovely article by Pamela C. Hawkins entitled “And So We Hope.” The writer speaks of Holy Saturday—that day that lies between the crucifixion and Easter morning. She writes, “Even as stone hit stone, trapping Jesus in earthly darkness, love was present through two women who risked staying behind to see where he was buried ([Mark] 15:47). And although we cannot be sure from Mark’s text that the white-robed young man found by Mary and the others in the empty tomb had been with Jesus all along, we have no reason to doubt it (16:1–5). Why would the God of love ever leave a child of God alone in the dark, or in grief, or in death, or doubt or fear or struggle? God would not and does not and did not.”**
The last verses (Psalm 107:21-22) speak of thankfulness. God truly loves a thankful heart. Just how does one express thankfulness to God? In today’s society we hear an expression, “Pay it forward.” My interpretation of this expression is that you have received a gift you didn’t expect or perhaps deserve. With a thankful heart you in turn do the same to a friend or a stranger. Remember the biblical directive: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” Perhaps one more biblical guide for us is the one found in Micah 6:6–8: “Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”
Prayer: Dear God, help us today to trust in your ways. Help us to look around and within for signs of your presence. Please give us a thankful heart for the gift of your grace and goodness. Amen.
—Jean Cook
*James I. Cook, “Confessions of a Secondary Sufferer,” Perspectives 2, no. 9 [November 1987]: 5
**Pamela C. Hawkins, “And So We Hope,” Weavings XXVII, no. 2 [February/March/April 2012]: 40
One of the great temptations in times of stress and struggle is the temptation of magic—that someone, somewhere, has the elixir that will make all the problems go away. From politicians to infomercials to bookstore shelves, the promise of easy answers and quick fixes calls. No long process. No hard conversations. No confusing dialectic to toss and turn in the brain. No dealing with people who don’t see it my way. Just the answer.
But the Bible, and the faith we derive from it, has never been a book of magic—it is rather a wellspring of hope that strengthens us and allows us to go forward no matter the circumstances. Hope stirs the imagination, expands horizons, energizes; it honors the past, references the present, and remembers the future. Hope is why the Psalmist can say, “for dominion belongs to the Lord.”
We are a people of hope and the people of Hope (Church). For in God, we are able to see what has not yet been and what will be:
“(to) sing to our Lord a new song;
(to) sing in our world a sure Hope:
Our God loves this world,
God called it into being,
God renews it through Jesus Christ,
God governs it by the Spirit.
God is the world’s true Hope.”*
*from the Reformed Church in America’s “Our Song of Hope.”
Prayer: In your grace, O God, grant us the wisdom and courage to this day and every day be people of hope.
—Jeff Japinga
Meditations for People of Hope 