Obedience

Saturday 6/13/20 6:44 AM

Yesterday I wrote about the fact that I should share the new songs and insights God has given me over the past few months with the broader Christian community. As I read Psalm 40 this morning, verses 9-10 caught my attention. “I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.” Once again, God is sending me the message.

I have a tendency to procrastinate when it comes to following through on what I think God might be telling me to do. I often carry on an internal debate about the wisdom of following through, which ultimately results in no action on my part. These words by François Fénelon encourage me to change that pattern, “It appears to me that true fidelity consists in obeying God in everything and following the light that points out our duty, and His spirit that prompts us to do it; with the desire of pleasing Him, without debating about great or little sins, about imperfections or unfaithfulness; for though there may be a difference in fact, to the soul that is determined to do all His will there is none.” I pray that God will give me the courage to act without debate.

New Songs

Friday 6/12/20 6:54 AM

The past couple of weeks have been pretty stressful. I began teaching remotely, something I’ve never done before. I’ve had plenty of sleepless nights worrying about how to do things or waking up in a cold sweat thinking of what could go wrong. I gave tests Monday and spent a great deal of time figuring out how to grade written tests without having a hard copy of the test in my hand. I have always loved the job of teaching but I do not like the way it must be done now. I just want to retire and step away from it all but I’m committed to at least two more years because of my sabbatical.

I’ve been doing a lot of walking since the beginning of the year and a lot of listening for God’s voice. I’ve rehearsed a lot of scripture and God has given me new songs to sing, some with words and some just tunes. I’ve been toying with the idea of sharing them with my church community by making short videos explaining how the songs came to be and then singing them or humming them. Our church has a Facebook page and others have been posting things to it so I thought it might be a possibility. Like most ideas I have about sharing with a broader community I often waffle between thinking it’s a good idea and thinking it’s a bad idea, so I never take the step to do it.

My psalm for the week is Psalm 40. It begins with these words, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” This has definitely been my experience over the past months. The thing that caught my eye was many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. I wondered how it can be that many will see and fear the Lord if I remain silent. God has put new songs in my mouth and others can benefit only if I share. The opening prayer in my devotional material says it well. “Oh Lord, you have delivered us from trouble when we were on the cusp of destruction. Embrace us, and give us your secure freedom. Make us ready to tell of your goodness and receive your gifts. In you, we rejoice.”