Maybe a psalm of escape?

Beloved of God,

    On Sunday I mentioned that we have not had anyone commit to teaching our first and second grade class this fall. I continue to hope that someone will feel a strong and clear leading to spend that hour with them on Sunday mornings. As I teach our Middle Schoolers, what I find so very often is that I’m beckoned back into Scripture with fresh eyes and ears. They’re not quite calculated enough to do anything other than to bring honest questions and concerns to their Bible reading. And if I were wiser, and if I’d taken Jesus’ teaching seriously, I might do the same thing. Teaching these classes is so often not just a duty, but a valuable redirection of our discipleship. If you want to talk about this further, please contact Megan.

    This week’s Scripture reading is from Psalm 124. It’s one of our “psalms of ascent,” but to me, it really feels like a psalm of escape. I know some of you have powerful stories of rescue and escape; moments where you are deeply aware that if God had not been present and moving in power you would not have survived. Those stories are powerful testimonies, and it’s a huge grace that you share them with us. 
    But I do wonder how often it is the case that we are rescued from something and never notice. I wonder if we’re not all that different sometimes from that old cartoon, Mr. Magoo, moving through life with danger and trouble missing us by inches. A psalm like this might be especially valuable because it reminds us how constantly God has moved to protect us in moments we don’t even notice. 
    Perhaps it would be worthwhile to read this psalm slowly, and then to thank God for all the moments that we know we’ve been rescued or preserved. Maybe that’s especially important if haven't really noticed them in the first place. What a joy to know how constant God’s care and defense are for us. Somebody ought to write a song about that. 

Please join me this week in praying for:

• That we would be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
  
• Our Associate Pastor Search Team.
  
• Students, teachers, coaches, staff, and many others involved in the good work of guiding our young people as they learn and grow.
  
• Coaches, directors, athletes, and artists and for their safety this year as they travel for extra-curricular activities
• Our countrymen in Hawaii who have suffered the loss of life, home, and treasured heritage.
• Those in positions of public trust at the federal, state, and local levels. 
• Those who respond to emergencies on our roadways, in our wildlands, in our communities, and even in our homes.
• Each other (please contact [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).

You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world,

Marshall