Exodus 2:11-3:22
Matthew 17:10-27
Psalm 22:1-18
Proverbs 5:7-14
"But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. "He trusts in the Lord," they say, "let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.""
Psalms 22:6-8 NIV
While we absolutely can experience times of despair, and while there are people out there who may mistreat us, we can hold steadfast with complete confidence knowing that God is so much greater than all of that. In fact, look at what God has provided us with at Grace Church. He has given us love, hope, friendship, honesty, opportunities to humble ourselves and to grow. He has given us a community of people from many walks of life, with many different experiences and upbringings, all with a common love for the Lord Almighty. We do not have to worry about facing rejection or ridicule for our faith when we walk in those doors. Instead, we are faced with love and acceptance for who we are in Christ. I cannot imagine walking into Grace Church and feeling the way that this Psalmist did, and I pray that there never comes a day that I can relate. When I walk through the doors of Grace, I excitedly make my way up the steps; I wave hello to the worship team, and I feel welcome; there is conversation after the service, and small group to look forward to. It. Is. AWESOME! When trials in life come about, God is fully present, as always, and I truly feel like I am surrounded by a community of loving people. This is what church is supposed to be like. Reading this Psalm, it pains me to hear how they mocked him, insulted him, and said let the Lord save him, as if the Lord saving him was some kind of joke. This is where the huge contrast stands out in my mind. Instead of mockery, and sarcastically telling someone "let the Lord rescue him" I can imagine someone at church saying, "the Lord WILL rescue you!", "Stay faithful!", "Do not doubt! Cast your worries away!" It feels SO GOOD to be surrounded by a loving church family. It feels SO GOOD to receives God's abundant blessings. It feels SO GOOD to be a part of this, to have friends who lift me up, friends who love Christ, friends who care about me, friends who listen with a loving ear, friends who feel comfortable talking about their personal walks with Jesus, and friends who are working to focus more on God and less on the worldly distractions. It's not easy to build meaningful friendships, at least it hasn't always been easy for me, but I'll tell you this - my difficulty with building meaningful friendships has gone away over the past year. I love the friendships that have formed at Grace, and I love the small group that we share. Our faith is what binds us, WE are the body of Christ. Let us work together so that no one in our Grace family ever feels alone and demeaned like this Psalmist did.
Dear Lord, thank you for your abundant blessings. Thank you for showing us what love is on a daily basis. Thank you for the gift of perspective; please help us to view the world and our circumstances with a lens that aligns with your perspective. Please reveal to us anyone who feels downcast like David, and use us as vessels of your love and light. Help us to lead them toward you. Heavenly Father, please grow our church, please extend our outreach, please use us to grow your kingdom in ways that we can't imagine. All that we have, and all that we are promised, is because of you. We thank you. Thank you, Jesus, for your ultimate sacrifice. Thank you for life. To live = Christ. We love you. Amen.
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