Psalm 20

 

You are invited to read Psalm 20

For me, the opening line of Psalm 20 is a powerful and profound prayer.  Here are a few translations of the first verse.  

 

May the Eternal’s answer find you, come to rescue you, when you desperately cling to the end of your rope. (The Voice)

 

God answer you on the day you crash, the name God-of-Jacob put you out of harm’s reach. (The Message)

 

I pray that the Lord answers you whenever you are in trouble. Let the name of Jacob’s God protect you. (The Common English)

 

The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; (King James Version)

Where do you feel like you are hanging on to a thin fiber of rope that is stretched and strained and threatening to snap any second now?  Where do you need God to be present to you today?  Name and claim these places.  The Psalms are raw and honest, inviting us to bring our less-than-perfect/polished/put together self into the presence of the Holy.  God doesn’t need or desire our facades, God longs for authentic and earnest and from our heart words. 

After you pray the places you are at the end of your rope, the trouble that rumbles within and around you, the places of pain and heartbreak and soul ache, I encourage you to listen.  I don’t believe that God swoops in and saves the day and restores everything back to the way we want it.  But I do experience and encounter God’s presence that is enough.  Enough strength for this moment.  Enough love for me to face the day.  Enough grace to find joy and enough joy to laugh.  God doesn’t magically make the hurt disappear, God’s gift is a presence that stirs and supports and strengthens us.  We know that God loves us enough to become us.  God became human and faced death to show us a love that never lets us go (Philippians 2:6-11), especially when we are at the end of our ropes or everything is crashing/crumbling down.  I trust this day that troubles of the world won’t have the final say.  May this promise and God’s presence meet you, especially when you are at the end of the rope (which is often God’s address).  Amen.