Today’s Scripture readings: Psalm 17; Job 1:1-22; Luke 21:34-22:6
My steps are set firmly on your paths; my feet haven’t slipped. --Psalm 17:5
Supper time! No matter where we were in the neighborhood, we knew to be home by supper time. As a teenager, I left my friend’s house one particular spring evening in plenty of time to be home for supper. Down her street, around the big curve, right at the stop sign, and only one large hill to go before turning onto my own street.
We lived on the corner with a knee-high hedge completely surrounding the yard. From the edge of the road, I could get two good running steps before bounding over the ditch. One further step allowed me enough push-off momentum for sailing over that hedge. As always, I cleared both with ease. As I jogged across the yard toward the front stoop, I was probably thinking about what we would have for supper. Two more steps and I would be in the house greeted by yummy smells.
I’m not sure what happened at that moment when I bounced up onto the stoop. Maybe my shoes were damp from the evening grass. Maybe I just landed in a bad way. Whatever the cause, my foot slipped and my ankle turned… hard. Immediately I hit the concrete knowing I wouldn’t be getting up right away. Pain soared through the joint, and I instinctively reach for the ankle to check it out. It was already growing, throbbing and turning a dark ugly color. Through tears, I reached up and rang the doorbell so someone would quickly come to help. A trip to the local emergency room showed no break but a nasty sprain that required crutches for a while.
In David’s psalms, he often writes of difficult times when he faces personal struggles and depends on God’s pull from darkness into light. Psalm 17, however, approaches his circumstance from the other side. Here, David proclaims his faithfulness and calls on God to recognize that he is wholesome when compared to others. “You’ve looked me over closely, but haven’t found anything wrong,” David says. “My steps are set firmly on your paths; my feet haven’t slipped.”
We all slip at one time or another – sometimes physically and sometimes spiritually. David slipped, just as you and I do. The result can be as uncomfortable as a sprain or as devastating as death. The difference comes in whether we clumsily fall to the concrete or faithfully fall to our knees.
Our goal, of course, is to be mindful of each step so that we are balanced, sure-footed, and steady on our feet. We don’t want to lean on any crutches for support. We only want to keep our eyes on Jesus and remain firmly on the good path that leads to eternal life. Lent provides a wonderful time for reflecting on God’s ways, repenting of our failings, and then creating habits that keep us steady.
Holy God, with your help, may my steps be set firmly on your paths, and may my feet never slip from your ways. Amen.
My steps are set firmly on your paths; my feet haven’t slipped. --Psalm 17:5
Supper time! No matter where we were in the neighborhood, we knew to be home by supper time. As a teenager, I left my friend’s house one particular spring evening in plenty of time to be home for supper. Down her street, around the big curve, right at the stop sign, and only one large hill to go before turning onto my own street.
We lived on the corner with a knee-high hedge completely surrounding the yard. From the edge of the road, I could get two good running steps before bounding over the ditch. One further step allowed me enough push-off momentum for sailing over that hedge. As always, I cleared both with ease. As I jogged across the yard toward the front stoop, I was probably thinking about what we would have for supper. Two more steps and I would be in the house greeted by yummy smells.
I’m not sure what happened at that moment when I bounced up onto the stoop. Maybe my shoes were damp from the evening grass. Maybe I just landed in a bad way. Whatever the cause, my foot slipped and my ankle turned… hard. Immediately I hit the concrete knowing I wouldn’t be getting up right away. Pain soared through the joint, and I instinctively reach for the ankle to check it out. It was already growing, throbbing and turning a dark ugly color. Through tears, I reached up and rang the doorbell so someone would quickly come to help. A trip to the local emergency room showed no break but a nasty sprain that required crutches for a while.
In David’s psalms, he often writes of difficult times when he faces personal struggles and depends on God’s pull from darkness into light. Psalm 17, however, approaches his circumstance from the other side. Here, David proclaims his faithfulness and calls on God to recognize that he is wholesome when compared to others. “You’ve looked me over closely, but haven’t found anything wrong,” David says. “My steps are set firmly on your paths; my feet haven’t slipped.”
We all slip at one time or another – sometimes physically and sometimes spiritually. David slipped, just as you and I do. The result can be as uncomfortable as a sprain or as devastating as death. The difference comes in whether we clumsily fall to the concrete or faithfully fall to our knees.
Our goal, of course, is to be mindful of each step so that we are balanced, sure-footed, and steady on our feet. We don’t want to lean on any crutches for support. We only want to keep our eyes on Jesus and remain firmly on the good path that leads to eternal life. Lent provides a wonderful time for reflecting on God’s ways, repenting of our failings, and then creating habits that keep us steady.
Holy God, with your help, may my steps be set firmly on your paths, and may my feet never slip from your ways. Amen.