strong and loving

Opening Prayer: Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope come from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 62:5-6, old NIV)

Scripture: Psalm 62:1-12

Journal: What words or images are you most drawn to in Psalm 62?  Why?  What is the relationship between rest and trust and belief?  Are you able to rest in God’s care and provision? Why or why not?

Reflection: I’ve always felt like Psalm 62 was written backwards, it starts with rest and then moves to trust, and finally on to belief.  Who knows, maybe it just starts on the surface and works its way down to the core.  But if we start with rest, we will find ourselves frustrated and helpless.  We can’t make ourselves rest, especially if we think that our salvation and our honor depend on us (v. 7).  In that case, we must continually work to ensure that our salvation and our honor are secure.  Rest is impossible without trust.  In order to rest, we must trust that God is the one who takes care of our salvation and our honor, it is not something we can, or need to, work for.

     But trust is impossible without belief.  In order to be able to trust God with things of such importance, we must believe that he is able and willing to take care of them.  That is where the last two verses of the psalm come into play.  In order to trust God, we must truly believe that he is both strong and loving.  One without the other would be either incomplete or insufficient.  Imagine a God who was strong, but not loving.  In that scenario we would live in constant terror of what he might do to us.  Or imagine a God who was loving, but not strong.  In that case God would want to help us, but would be unable to do so.  But thankfully he is both.  Therefore, we can believe, and thus, we can trust, in order that we might rest.  If we are unable to rest, then maybe we need to examine our trust and our belief.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard; that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.  Help me to truly believe that.