Tuesday, March 23
Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop & Missionary of Armenia (332)
Psalms 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126
1 Corinthians 14:20-33a, 39-40
Psalms 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126
What is it about a phone ringing in the middle of the night?
Immediately my heart starts pounding. Thoughts race through my head. Which son? Which parent? My brother? What's wrong? How wrong? It's 3:00 in the morning. I pick up the phone. A thousand possibilities have already raced through my mind. My friend says I "horrible-ize." Don’t we all "horrible-ize" when the phone rings at 3:00 in the morning? Then I hear his voice over the phone. He's OK (Thank you, Lord), but he's not Ok. He talks non stop. His voice is unsteady. Life is at a very difficult place. I want to help. I know I can't fix it. I listen a lot, I talk some, and then I know for certain where to find the help and comfort that he needs. And I always go to the Psalms. So after I listen, and after I talk, I read out loud over the phone. Most often there's no way to explain or understand why "this" has happened. But when I read the Psalms, there is the comfort. So I always go to the Psalms.
And I read…
"I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes for the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
"He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber."
"The Lord watches over you--the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."
He's there I tell him. He's with you. He won't let the flood waters engulf you. He won't let the torrent sweep over you. He won't let the raging waters sweep you away. He is there. What greater comfort can there be?
So, if you receive a call from a loved one in the middle of the night, or if the flood waters are rising all around you, or if you simply want to feel the comfort of His eternal presence, I encourage you to go to the Psalms.
Melinda VanPaasschen