Week 5 Wednesday

Never Alone

Today’s scripture selection: Psalms 12-14

Key verses: Psalm 13:5

 

     “Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.”

     When the Psalmist cried out with these words – it expressed the feeling of abandonment everyone feels now and then.  Sometimes I have to turn off the radio and switch off the computer because I just can’t take it anymore.  No matter how much I want to stay “informed” about the world in which I live – I just don’t want to hear another discouraging report.  So I turn to a good book or take a walk or talk to my wife about something funny and pleasant.  And I would argue that sometimes that is a very important, and healthy, thing to do.

     It’s also a very important and healthy thing to remember that we are not alone in our daily struggles in life.  It may feel that way at times.  But the word of God reminds us, time and again, that just isn’t the case.

     So, even in the middle of a group of Psalms that are filled with lamentation and a cry for help we find words like this:

       “(LORD) I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me.”

By remembering God’s abiding presence; by recalling Christ’s promise that He would never leave us alone; by gathering regularly in the fellowship of other believers – in all these ways – we strengthen our resolve.  And we take comfort that we really aren’t alone after all.

So, don’t run for the hills.  Don’t stick your head in the ground like an ostrich, refusing to be aware of what is happening around you in this troubled world of ours.  After all, we are called to do something about it if we can.

But don’t think you are alone, either.  You’re not even out-numbered; because all of heaven’s resources are at your disposal – now and always.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, when I feel like I am all by myself, just one tiny boat floating in a treacherous sea, help me to remember how Jesus came walking on the water to meet his disciples.  Help me to recall how he calmed the waves.  Help me to be at peace again.  AMEN.

 

 

Paul Simrell's avatar

By Paul Simrell

The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program. Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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