SCRIPTURE: Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you. If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath. Disciples so often get into trouble; still, God is there every time. He’s your bodyguard, shielding every bone; not even a finger gets broken. The wicked commit slow suicide; they waste their lives hating the good. Psalm 34:17-21 MSG
THOUGHT: The NIV translates “disciples so often get into trouble,” as “the righteous person may have many troubles.” It’s counter-intuitive to our sense of fairness, isn’t it? We think being ‘good,’ following God’s rules for human flourishing, and telling the truth about things is going to pave the way for a trouble-free life, but you could tell stories, and I could tell stories, and we could look at history and see it ain’t so. David the Psalmist’s take on it isn’t that we don’t have trouble, it’s that we have a rescuer ready to help with broken hearts, kicked guts, and endangered bones. To David, who lived through so much – and made his own share of mistakes – to give up on God and turn your back on doing good just because you encounter hardship and brokenness is tantamount to slow suicide. God help us not to drink that Kool-Aid.
PRAYER: Jesus, you said in this world I will have trouble, but you also said “take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33) Help me take heart, today and everyday. I have a bodyguard like none other.
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