In the midst of your temple, O God, we meditate on your steadfast love.
Mark this—God is our God forever and ever, guiding us even to the end. Psalm 48:9,14
Reflection: Do you see those tall peaks in the distance? I certainly noticed them, because I realized that I had hiked over them! On the ledge at McAfee’s Knob, Virginia, one June evening I was amazed as I mentally traced the path I must have traveled over the last few weeks. I stood humbled by God’s steadfast love and help that had brought me so far in spite of myself. There I also understood that I could count on God guiding me for another couple of hundred miles, even to the end. The wondrous moment was short-lived, however. A thunderstorm came barreling in and a scramble to get down to relative safety ensued. But I didn’t forget what I had just seen, nor have I forgotten it since.
There is a story where the prophet Samuel stood at a place and recognized God’s help: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us.'” (1 Samuel 7:12) Ebenezer means stone of help. Perhaps you remember the words in the old hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”:
Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come;
and I hope by Thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home.
When have you taken a look back, known that God had helped you come so far, and received courage to continue on?
Suggestions:
1. Take this verse with you and ponder its meaning for you throughout the day. What do you notice? What do you wonder? Comment on when you have looked back and seen God’s help.
2. Or read all of Psalm 48 to discover how this verse fits into the psalm or to discover a different verse.
3. Or comment with a photo of your own that illustrates this verse’s meaning for you.
Tomorrow’s verse is from Psalm 49:15.
Starting January 1, 2016, for 150 days I am posting a daily psalm verse with a photo that is a visual meditation on the text for me. Each day a verse from the next psalm is chosen until all 150 psalms have been featured. To participate you may subscribe to my blog at https://elainedent.net or “friend” me on Facebook and watch for the daily links to blog posts. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer and most of the photos are from a cell phone or small camera while hiking the Appalachian Trail or the C&O Canal/Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
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