Emmitsburg Council of Churches

 

A Meditation for November . . .
"Finding Our Help in God"

"Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. . . . Praise the Lord." (Psalm 146:5-8)

"Finding Our Help in God"

To find our need for God, we sometimes have to journey away from the safety and security of home, the job, or whatever it is that has become our source of refuge away from God. It is unnatural for most of us to abandon the secure confines of our normal routines: the television, the computer, the newspaper, another cigaret, the alcohol or drug habit. But in order to move into the deeper spiritual life we must turn ourselves towards the One who is always faithful, the One who the psalmist has found trustworthy. Our challenge is to care enough about ourselves to want to recognize where true living comes from.

It is not as severe a journey as it may sound, all that is required is for us to retreat into the wilderness – to go to the place where it is quiet. The need is to get to the place where the wind can be heard as it rustles through the tall grass or blows through the trees of our lives. Becoming attentive to Life that is beyond our own -- we begin to sense creation’s Source, possibilities for inner renewal draw close. You may even find this place in your imagination, what is necessary is to get quiet even as the trees are quiet in their growth toward winter dormancy -- the time of unseen growth.

Finding ourselves in this place can allow the words from the psalmist to take on new meaning in our lives. From a state of quiet, there can come the realization that true happiness in life is not derived from what society around us can give, but from what God alone gives to those who live their days with hope in him. Blessings are not the summation of acquired goods, but in knowing the truth that God’s love sets us free to rejoice in that hope. Whether you have much or little should not detract from your joy in the Lord.

The psalmist from our passage written above has apparently thought long and hard about where true joy lies. True joy comes to those who hear the eternal voice that speaks in the rustling of autumn leaves and is contained in the swaying of the fall grasses. This is the God of faithfulness and justice, the one who lifts up the oppressed and loves the righteous. Get on the Way, seek the attributes of God for your life, and as you journey – be listening and looking to reconnect with the true Source of joy. For it takes us some time to remove ourselves from the trappings of life in order to view God for who God is "The one who . . . "

The Peace of Christ be yours, now and forever.

Amen

Pastor Jon

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