“Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
“…as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” (Deut. 33:25)
Today’s reading reminds us of how important our daily devotion can be (meaning that we are doing good :) we are equipping ourselves for what God has prepared for us. )
As the author mentioned, “Word of God is the staff”. As we walk on easy paths, we might think that we need not a staff to help us; this is often the time we forget about God. We think we are competent enough to take actions according to our own will. However, this is often followed by the time we fumble the most, because without God’s Word, the staff, we won’t be ready for any unpredictable paths ahead. How much we practice on our faith each day can mean how much strength and grace we receive from God.
There were numerous times when I faced frustrations, committed sins, held grudges…etc… And only at those hard times, I would seek for God’s help, and God would always send His Words to me, through his servants, reverends, friends, parents, and even bible itself (in this case, I think it was Holy Spirit). A well known example will be the stolen-wallet incident in 2006 ..on my birthday; after the incident, I help so much grudge I actually wanted to kill whoever stole my belongings….however, only within 2 days, God’s words calmed my mind, forgave my sins.
I like the quote of Martin Luther’s wife’s. We would hardly understand the practice of Christian duties if we were not brought under some afflictions by God.
So we should remember to hold onto the “staff” at all times for we will be ready when God sends us to the “stony paths”; by then we shall not be afraid as we march forward because God will have equipped us with the “iron shoes”.
2 comments:
Indeed, God's words are truly our light and our staff.
Wahh..u really held ur grudge against whoever stole ur wallet nei!
u know..the quote of Martin Luther's wife is very hard to understand!
i'll post it here for u to see
“I had never known,” said Martin Luther’s wife, “what such and such things meant, in such and such psalms, such complaints and workings of spirit; I had never understood the practice of Christian duties, had not God brought me under some affliction.” It is very true that God’s rod is as the schoolmaster’s pointer to the child, pointing out the letter, that he may the better take notice of it; thus He pointeth out to us many good lessons which we should never otherwise have learned.
hmm..yah...archaic english...hard to understand... I read the Chinese version of this quote instead...more 白話一點 I think will be like:
"I would have never known what so many things meant as I try to reflect them onto my Psalm readings - all the complaints and works of Holy Spirit described by Daivd; and I would have never understood what being a Christian is about...if GOd hasn't brought me into any trials, and afflictions."
Post a Comment