Reflections
Psalm 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14 (Read)
“The Lord lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.”
We may question why God allows us
to suffer, why he allows “bad things to happen to good people.”
We may ask, as the early believers
probably did, “Why is it necessary to undergo such hardships to enter the
kingdom of God?”
Scripture tells us that afflictions are
to be expected in our walk with the
Lord. We may not understand what
God is up to, but we can be sure
that our faith will be strengthened
that our faith will be strengthened
if we stand fast in the face of suffering.
We will become better witnesses for Christ
if we are humbled; we become better servants
if we bear up with our difficulties and trust
in the Lord. As our psalmist tells us,
“The Lord is trustworthy in every word, and
faithful in every work.”
Endurance is a Godly quality and will help us
to get 'yoked' to Jesus. Having done that, together
with our psalmist David, we join with the faithful
and speak of the glory of God's reign and bless
His name.
The book of Wisdom tells us that God loves all
things He has created, and loathes nothing He
has made. David says it this way, “The Lord is
good to all and compassionate toward all His works.”
This verse is fulfilled in Sunday's Gospel –
Zacchaeus could just as well sing this psalm,
“I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.”
When we reflect on what God has done for us,
we remember that we live our lives amidst an
unending stream of divine love. God has always
done good things for us. That is God's nature –
as the Psalm says, “The Lord is gracious and merciful
and of great kindness.”
And so we pray this psalm to bless, praise, and exalt
the heavenly Father in His perfection and in His works.
“Great is the Lord and highly to be praised.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist asks us (His faithful ones) to speak of God's might and discourse of the glory of God's kingdom. Give an example of how you have complied with our psalmist's appeals.
2. We are assured by the Psalm that the Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. Share how your faith has been strengthened by any hardships you may have undergone.
“The Lord is trustworthy in every word, and
faithful in every work.”
Endurance is a Godly quality and will help us
to get 'yoked' to Jesus. Having done that, together
with our psalmist David, we join with the faithful
and speak of the glory of God's reign and bless
His name.
The book of Wisdom tells us that God loves all
things He has created, and loathes nothing He
has made. David says it this way, “The Lord is
good to all and compassionate toward all His works.”
This verse is fulfilled in Sunday's Gospel –
Zacchaeus could just as well sing this psalm,
“I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.”
When we reflect on what God has done for us,
we remember that we live our lives amidst an
unending stream of divine love. God has always
done good things for us. That is God's nature –
as the Psalm says, “The Lord is gracious and merciful
and of great kindness.”
And so we pray this psalm to bless, praise, and exalt
the heavenly Father in His perfection and in His works.
“Great is the Lord and highly to be praised.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist asks us (His faithful ones) to speak of God's might and discourse of the glory of God's kingdom. Give an example of how you have complied with our psalmist's appeals.
2. We are assured by the Psalm that the Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. Share how your faith has been strengthened by any hardships you may have undergone.
I was shocked at the news of fires in the L.A. area. Many innocent people lost their homes because of these big fires and some lives have been lost in other parts of Southern California. Why?
ReplyDeleteI wondered and questioned how come our Good God allows these tragedies.
I have heard that our Lord is good to everyone, gracious and compassionate. And also He loathes nothing, no one whom He has made. At the same time I recall what God has done for me. There have been many dangers in my life. There have been evil forces crouching all around me. However, I have been under God’s protection with his love and mercy whenever I pray. Thanks be to God, even though in my human mind I could not fully understand God's divine will for me or others.
I have learned about God’s loving nature towards all his works and God’s love toward all He has made. Whenever I faced troubles I called upon God, asking, begging.
I took for granted God’s merciful nature, his kindness and his love toward human beings.
Finally I have learned He will not lift me up without true repentance in my heart.
God has permitted me to have true wisdom to know who He is through my afflictions and suffering. I can not enter into the kingdom of God without experiencing any cross. His justice and righteousness demands our purification through our suffering, hardships, and difficulties. He wants us to carry our cross. He gives grace to the humble.
After I have suffered enough God restores my faith in Him and makes me strong, firm, and steadfast. I can be a witness to others. Our God is a God of endurance and He is full of love and trustworthiness. He has compassion on all He has made. All God’s creation will praise the Lord!
When reflecting on the Psalms, week to week, I am always drawn to the plight of my children. This week, I am especially drawn to verse 14: “The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” I would not want to be a young person in today’s world — the enemy is having a field day with social media, creating feelings of isolation and loneliness in epidemic proportions. And so much of it is based on falsehood! People photoshop their images, place themselves in fantastic settings, and embellish a snapshot of what might not have even been a fun event. Those looking on, are left to ask themselves why they were not included or why they don’t have similar happenings to post. Or even when they do, why their posts don’t get as many “likes” as someone else’s.
ReplyDeleteEveryone wants validity. But we don’t get validated by this world.
I would like to say that both of my children are of the “post-social media” movement. They’re mature for their ages and get along with older friends and adults. It doesn’t make for an easy social scene while in college. I can sense when one or the other is feeling downtrodden. I have the life experience to know that the Lord comes to my rescue. He raises me up when I am falling down. Do my children know this?
“God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.” (V.8). Perhaps the Lord is allowing my family to experience this valley of social anxiety so that His power can be seen, lifting us up. He will show us His mercy, in His timing. What a testimony we will have to share when God allows each of my family members to reach a platform of success and be able to witness to His healing power.
My constant mommy prayer is that my children walk closely with the Lord always. May He reach down and show that He is, “good to all, and His compassion is over all that He has made.” (V.9)
Amen.
Life is full of hardships and everyone experiences it in different ways. Some people deal with more hardship than others. Depression is one of the biggest hardships my children continue to deal with. It seems to be a battle that comes and goes, switching between my children.
ReplyDeleteOne critical time was when one of my sons was in high school. He showed several red flags of depression. Before we knew it, it had gotten to the point where he contemplated suicide. Thank the Lord our son told us of his thoughts. After 2 years of counseling and battling through rocky ups and downs, through constant prayers from family members our prayers were answered. He was doing much better and on the road to recovery no longer needing medication.
Unfortunately we are facing the depression battle once again. I lift my children up to the Lord. I know He takes care of them and will continue to help them as they have overcome it once before. I pray and trust in our Lord that a positive outcome will happen like before. It is a hardship we all face together as a family and grow stronger in our faith as we pray and trust in our Lord’s protection.