The Mask

A series on the Psalms - the voice of emotions
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
When you’re feeling lonely.
Psalm 25 

[Life is filled with emotions… anger and love; fear and courage; anxiety and peace. The Book of Psalms is also filled with emotions. They help us to validate our feelings and understand ourselves better; to grow in our faith and our relationship with Jesus; to understand the character of our Lord and how He works in our life.]

  

During COVID, everybody wore a mask! They were one of the many things that people adapted to during the pandemic, but never liked.

 

In addition to wearing a mask, you kept six feet apart in public; you couldn’t visit family or friends; you couldn’t enjoy the camaraderie of your coworkers; you couldn’t visit your grandparents in a nursing home. The result was loneliness. But when life returned to normal… people were still lonely.

 

David, who wrote Psalm 25, knew what it felt like to be lonely. Even though Samuel had anointed him the king of Israel, he ran for his life from King Saul. He spent years living in the wilderness and hiding in caves. At one point, he even pretended to be insane in order to escape his enemies.

 

Not only was he lonely then, but when he finally did take his rightful position as king, he quickly fell into sin. Because he didn’t go to war with his troops, he was alone and watched Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop. Loneliness took a toll not only on David, but also on his family, as well as the kingdom of Israel.

 

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.
¹⁸ Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.       NIV

 

Despite his intense feelings, David put his hope and trust in the Lord.

  

¹ O Lord, I give my life to you.
^2b I trust in you, my God!      NLT

⁴ Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
⁵ Lead me by your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God who saves me.
    All day long I put my hope in you.      NLT

During COVID, a mask was a sign of the times. It could both protect you and those near you. But a mask can also harm you by leading to loneliness. However, even during your difficult times, the Lord is at work.

 

⁸ The Lord is good and does what is right;
    he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
⁹ He leads the humble in doing right,
    teaching them his way.
¹⁰ The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
    all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.              NLT

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

The Sound of Silence

A series on the Psalms - the voice of emotions
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
When you’re feeling discouraged.
Psalm 42 

[Life is filled with emotions… anger and love; fear and courage; anxiety and peace. The Book of Psalms is also filled with emotions. They help us to validate our feelings and understand ourselves better; to grow in our faith and our relationship with Jesus; to understand the character of our Lord and how He works in our life.]                                                    

In 1964, Simon & Garfunkel released the song, “The Sound of Silence”. It’s a pensive poem about the inability of people to communicate with each other or to connect in a meaningful way. The result is loneliness and isolation which leads to a deep discouragement.

 

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
No one dared disturb the sound of silence

 

We’ve all felt like this before. The Psalmist was familiar with these feelings too. He had been exiled from his home into a foreign land where everything was different. Particularly, the religious ceremonies that had given meaning to his life in the past, had now been ripped away from him.

 

⁴ My heart is breaking
    as I remember how it used to be…
I walked among the crowds of worshipers,
    leading a great procession to the house of God,
singing for joy and giving thanks
    amid the sound of a great celebration!           NLT

 

Even more discouraging for the psalmist, was the people in this foreign land who mocked him and mocked his faith.

 

³ Day and night I have only tears for food,
while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,
    “Where is this God of yours?”               NLT

Despite this, he found reason for hope in the midst of despair.

 

⁵ Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and ⁶ my God!          NLT

 

There are times when we feel like God is silent; when He doesn’t seem to be present; when He feels distant. In the middle of this discouragement, the Psalmist gives us reason for encouragement.

 

⁸ But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
    and through each night I sing his songs,
    praying to God who gives me life.        NLT

The sound of silence can be deafening! During those times it’s important to not lose hope; to keep moving forward in faith, one step at a time; to seek the Lord and His presence.

 

¹ As the deer longs for streams of water,
    so I long for you, O God.
² I thirst for God, the living God.
    When can I go and stand before him?            NLT

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Hit by a Truck

A series on the Psalms - the voice of emotions
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
When you’re feeling fearful.
Psalm 91 

[Life is filled with emotions… anger and love; fear and courage; anxiety and peace. The Book of Psalms is also filled with emotions. They help us to validate our feelings and understand ourselves better; to grow in our faith and our relationship with Jesus; to understand the character of our Lord and how He works in our life.]

 

The definition of surreal is, “an event that seems strange; not real; like a dream”. Have you ever had something happen to you that felt surreal?

 

Recently while on vacation, I was walking to a water park with my daughter and three grandchildren. As we crossed the street, there was a shuttle bus blocking our view of oncoming traffic. In his excitement, my nine year old grandson ran ahead of us and was hit by a pickup truck. It was terrifying! It happened so quick that it felt totally surreal.

 

In a split second, my daughter was at her son’s side, followed by a stranger who identified himself as a retired policeman and EMT. He immediately took charge of the situation, holding Beckett’s head and neck in place; asking for a blanket from the crowd that had gathered; and then for an umbrella, as it started to rain.

 

The author of Psalm 91 may very well have gone through many terrifying experiences that were also surreal. He wrote about “terrors of the night, arrows in the day, disease that stalks in darkness and disaster that strikes at midday”.

 

But he also wrote about the presence of the Lord during those difficult and terrifying times.

 

^2b He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
    he is my God, and I trust him.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers.
    He will shelter you with his wings.
    His faithful promises are your armor and protection.         NLT

 

As Beckett lay on the pavement, he never lost consciousness and was talking. He asked if he was going to die; if he would be able to play soccer again. Thankfully, the retired policeman just happened to be there. He came out of nowhere. And afterwards, he disappeared without a word.

 

Maybe that’s what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote these words.

 

¹¹ For he will order his angels
    to protect you wherever you go.
¹² They will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. NLT

 

After being released from the hospital with a couple of bumps and bruises, Beckett said that he wanted to have a t-shirt made that said, “I was hit by a truck”. But in the ambulance, on the way to the hospital, he and his Mom prayed passionately.

 

The Psalmist wrote about fear. But he also wrote about the faithfulness of the Lord, including this promise which not only applies to Beckett, but to you and me.

 

¹⁴ The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
    I will protect those who trust in my name.
¹⁵ When they call on me, I will answer;
    I will be with them in trouble.
    I will rescue and honor them.
¹⁶ I will reward them with a long life
    and give them my salvation.”               NLT

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Do Over

A series on the book of Hosea
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hosea 11-14 

[The story about Hosea is a story about the relentless love of God. Hosea was a prophet who spoke out against the idolatry of the Israelites as they pursued the pagan gods of Baal and Asherah. His life became an allegory about the unfaithfulness of Israel and the relentless love of God.]

 

Have you ever wished that you could have a Do Over?

 

About four years ago I was late for work, so it’s possible that I was speeding. But, it was a Friday, and there were very few cars on the highway. Under those conditions, there was no way that I was going to cause an accident.

 

However, that didn’t seem to matter to the highway patrolman that stopped me. Without any hesitation, he wrote me a ticket which resulted in a $150 fine and… increased my car insurance by $300 annually for three years. I really wanted a Do Over.

 

Israel probably wanted a Do Over too. Even though the Lord faithfully reached out to His people in love, they rebelled against Him.

 

“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
    and I called my son out of Egypt.
² But the more I called to him,
    the farther he moved from me
offering sacrifices to the images of Baal
    and burning incense to idols.               Hosea 11       NLT

 

The result of their sin was God’s swift judgement.

 

³ Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears,
    like chaff swirling from a threshing floor,
    like smoke escaping through a window.        Hosea 13       NIV

 

¹⁶ The people of Samaria must bear their guilt,
    because they have rebelled against their God.
They will fall by the sword;
    their little ones will be dashed to the ground,
    their pregnant women ripped open.                Hosea 13       NIV

 

How would it feel to be alive, but nobody notices that you’re living (verse 3)? How would it feel to have everything that you hold dear, that you love and that brings meaning to your life… to be violently taken from you (verse 16)?

 

Thankfully for Israel, the story didn’t end there. They got a Do Over.

 

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for your sins have brought you down.
² Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord.
    Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,
    so that we may offer you our praises.      Hosea 14       NLT

 

⁴ The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;
    my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.           

                                                                                    Hosea 14       NLT

 

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end with our judgement either. The Lord’s faithful love has given you and me a Do Over. Paul explained it like this in Romans 7.

 

²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ^25a Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!       NIV

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com