Great Plains Daily Devotional for 6/19/2020

Psalm 92 

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to your name, Most High;
    to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,
        your faithfulness at nighttime
    with the ten-stringed harp,
        with the melody of the lyre
    because you’ve made me happy, Lord,
    by your acts.
    I sing with joy because of your handiwork.
How awesome are your works, Lord!
    Your thoughts are so deep!
Ignorant people don’t know—
    fools don’t understand this:
    though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers seem to blossom,
    they do so only to be destroyed forever.
But you, Lord, are exalted forever!

Look at your enemies, Lord!
    Look at how your enemies die,
    how all evildoers are scattered abroad!
But you’ve made me as strong as a wild ox.
    I’m soaked in precious ointment.
My eyes have seen my enemies’ defeat;
    my ears have heard the downfall of my evil foes.

The righteous will spring up like a palm tree.
    They will grow strong like a cedar of Lebanon.
Those who have been replanted in the Lord’s house
    will spring up in the courtyards of our God.
They will bear fruit even when old and gray;
    they will remain lush and fresh in order to proclaim:
        “The Lord is righteous.
        He’s my rock.
        There’s nothing unrighteous in him.”

Our scripture brings these words to light: Those who have been replanted in the Lord’s house will spring up in the courtyards of our God. They will bear fruit even when old and gray; they will remain lush and fresh in order to proclaim: The Lord is righteous. He’s my rock. There’s nothing unrighteous in Him. (vs. 13-15)

What a glorious picture that is! I’m thankful that God continues to replant each us over and over. We may never move, yet we are being replanted into new situations around us. Who of us ever dreamed that a pandemic would move us to new ways of worship, study, prayer, giving, serving and sharing our faith? When we were cut from the old and gray, we adjusted and have flourished in ways we never thought of. And guess what? Our new ways are lush and fresh! Out of our old and gray have come new and strong ways to proclaim God. We lived through it! We are living through it!

Let us use our old and gray to establish strong, beautiful people of faith who “do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can” (John Wesley).

Prayer for Reflection

Genesis 21:8-21
Psalm  86:1-10, 16-17
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39