Devotion for June 27, 2011 – Where Shall I Flee?
Today's Scripture Reading
Psalm 139:7-12
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
Today's Devotion
Sometimes we imagine that things could be very different if we only travel far enough away, in time or in space, from realities we face every day. When we journey to a foreign land, we often encounter lifestyles that are radically different from our own. Upon return, we often see our own lives in new light. We are changed in unexpected ways, and sometimes, we are very disoriented.
Imagine a trip up the Congo River in a small boat. The motor isn’t working too well, and sandbars are a constant menace, even in daylight. Night falls; our guides say, “One more hour”. Two hours pass, and it’s only darker. There is no electricity or light anywhere, but the stars are brighter than we ever see them. After more than 12 hours on the river, there is a glimmer of light, and the sound of joyful voices. You descend from the boat, and eager hands pull you up the hill to a compound where dinner, a bonfire, and dancing await you before you can finally sleep.
The psalmist reminds us: we cannot flee. The Spirit is with us in our darkest moments, and they soon become as light. We can take the wings of morning, and dwell in the farthest parts of the sea, and still, along the journey and at its end, we will find God.
God of all creation,
Make us ever mindful that You are with us, in our darkest moments and in all bright and fair happenings. We give you praise!
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