a place of abundance

Opening Prayer: Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praises be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. (Psalm 66:8-9)

Scripture: Psalm 66:10-12

Journal: Listen to the words of this ancient prayer, and listen for the prayer of God that rises in your heart.  What is it?  What is stirring in you?  How has God used the hard things in your life to bring you to a place of abundance?  How is he?

Reflection: “You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” (Psalm 66:12)

To reach the land of abundance, it seems, we must go through the fire and the water.  There is no way around it.  To get to the place called resurrection, we must go through the doorway of death.  In the words of C. S. Lewis, “Only that which has died will be resurrected.”  So, struggle is a prerequisite for growth and death is the prerequisite for resurrection.

That being the case, it seems like we would stop getting so offended and hurt and surprised when we have to go through hard things.  God told us that it would be this way.  It was that way for Jesus, so why would we expect it to be any different for us?  Why should we get an exemption?  Hard things should just be a sign to us that we are on the right path, and the final destination is oh so good.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: For you, O God, tested and tried us; you refined us like silver.  You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.  You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:10-12)