Wednesday 24 November 2021

Psalm 43

Background

My Mom had several favourite hymns, one of which starts with the words: "Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord" and is based on the words of the Magnificat – the words of praise to God spoken by Mary in Luke 1: 46-55.

We sang these words at her funeral and there was something strangely comforting and uplifting to hear the many voices of people who had come to say a formal goodbye to my Mom raised in words of praise to a God who offers and gives so much.

Hannah has just done one of the hardest things a mother could do – give her only child into the hands of others and into the hands of God – yet she finds voice to praise God who knows and sees all things.  She offers praise to the God who responds to the needs of the people and is found present in all things everywhere as creator and creating God. The God who is ultimately in charge.

These words are expressed out of a heart full of gratitude and remind us that we, too, need to remember that it is God who in charge of the world and of our lives, especially when the going gets tough.

I am not suggesting that we go around with huge grins of satisfaction on our faces, or dismiss the pain and grief of the world in which we live, but we sometimes need to refocus on who is in charge, who is faithful, who has promised to be with us. We can give  thanks to God in even the hardest of circumstances, even if our prayer is just a simple ‘thank you’ that we have got through another day or woken to find that another day lies ready before us.

To Ponder:

• · Has there ever been a time in your life when it has been hard or nearly impossible to give thanks to God? What happened and how did you break out of that stage?
• · How present is God in the situations in which you find yourself right now?

Prayer

Lord of all time and space, remind us of the simple things of life especially when we are hurting, tired or in pain. Open our eyes to find your presence n the caring words or actions of others and help us to find one small thing to thank you for in each day that we have. Amen.