Blessed Holy Week to all. This week in our devotions, the Leadership Huddle and I are looking at each day's texts through the lens of the "Hexagon," or the six priorities found in the Lord's prayer. They are:
God's CHARACTER (Father in heaven, hallowed be your name)
God's KINGDOM (Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as in heaven)
God's PROVISION (Give us this day our daily bread)
God's FORGIVENESS (Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us)
God's GUIDANCE (Lead us not into temptation/save us from the time of trial)
God's PROTECTION (Deliver us from evil)
For Tuesday in Holy Week, I am focusing on God's KINGDOM. So what does Psalm 70 have to say about God's Kingdom?
The original context for this psalm is King David, God's anointed ruler. David had several times when enemies were seeking his life: first King Saul, and years later, his son Absalom. God had warned the people years ago that this kind of violent power struggle would ensue if the people wanted human rulers instead of letting God continue to be their King. God's Reign is peace and equity, but human reign is strife, violence and chaos. When there is peace, it's peace enforced at the point of a sword.
This psalm pops up in Holy Week because David's ancestor, Jesus, is once again pursued by violence and death. His disciples don't know it yet, but Jesus' fate was sealed the moment he walked into the temple, turned over tables, and drove out money changers. All day today, he has tried to show God's Reign in his teachings, and his healings. Right in the temple court, in front of everyone, his healing sets free those with any ailments and his teachings confound the conventional wisdom of the religious teachers. But there will be a cost. Jesus knows this, and is trying to prepare himself and his disciples for it. The true victory of God's Reign is yet to come.
God's reign doesn't necessarily come in the picture perfect moments of harmony. Sometimes it comes in the desperate cries for rescue, like those of David, and later Jesus. It comes in those moments when we trust, despite our fear, that God is our helper and deliverer.
Prayer: O God, may your peace reign in our hearts when we are troubled. May trust and faith reign in our voices when we cry to you. Help us stop seeking to avoid uncomfortable situations, but to see how you reign even in the midst of them. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment