Power, Patience, and Praise

Colossians 1:9-14

I am a worrier. I worry about all sorts of things: silly things, serious things, things that I can do something about, things I can do absolutely nothing about. And all of this worry can leave me feeling drained. So I found a part of the Colossians reading today to be very interesting. “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power,” it says, “and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father…” (Colossians 1:11-12a). That’s what I want. I want the strength that comes from God’s power, I want the patience with which to endure, and I want to remember to joyfully praise God each and every day. In short, I want to quit worrying and to start living with power, patience, and praise.

I think the key lies in first accepting that God is at work in our lives whether we feel it or not, and in ways that we cannot fully comprehend. God’s love embraces us always, and God’s grace sustains us constantly. Realizing this to be true is a source of strength and confidence which empowers us to live as God’s people. Acceptance is not always easy, but it is worth the effort because the empowerment allows us to let go of doubts and fears, of our fretfulness and worry, so that we can praise God with more energy.

Martin Luther began each day reminding himself that he was baptized. In the same way I like to begin my morning by quoting Psalm 118:24, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” There really is power in the realization of God’s presence, in the acknowledgment of God’s amazing grace. That power in turn does lead to more patience, or at least a better attitude about things. And before you know it I am thanking and praising God for all the blessings I have received. I still worry; call me a work in progress, someone who is striving for a better path but has yet to get all the way there. My striving is based on God’s power, though, which does give me more patience, which in turn helps me to praise God. So the process continues. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: May we all receive the strength that comes from God’s glorious power, and may we be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

With the Help Of Our God

Nehemiah 6:1-19

According to our reading from Nehemiah this morning there was reason to celebrate in Jerusalem. “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:15-16). By God’s grace the restoration of Jerusalem’s defenses had been accomplished in very little time. This passage brings to mind other verses of significance. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). “The stone which the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner” (Psalm 118:22, 1 Peter 2:7). In each case scripture reminds us that God is at the very heart of our efforts. Whether we build with literal brick and mortar or strive for a spiritual structure we succeed only when we recognize God as the source of our strength.

What might we accomplish today “with the help of our God”? I don’t now about you, but this thought is both terrifying and invigorating to me. It scares me because I know that I have work to do, work that will be challenging and difficult at times. But it stirs my soul to think that with God’s help I can touch lives and offer God’s love to others. If we trust God to build the house, if we rely on the stone that the world has rejected, then we work with hope and confidence, with hearts open to possibilities that we might otherwise have missed.

Today is full of potential. May God bless it to our use and may we experience the success that comes “with the help of our God.”

Prayer: Lord, guide our living that your will be done, today and all days. In Jesus’ name. Amen.