Ninth Day of Lent

 Friday, February 26, 2021

Hallelujah!  He is risen!
A Lenten Devotional Guide
anonymous

 

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Psalm 136: 1-3 RSV

I just love this Psalm! I have read it over and over, in every Bible that I have, and I always see something there that I have not seen before. And those good "new" tidbits are wonderful, but they are not the reason I love the Psalm.

I love this Psalm because it reassures me of the constancy of God. In this crazy, changing world, God never changes. The world reflects his absolute dependability as its sun rises in the morning and sets in the afternoon. Absolutely dependable. The stars appear at night and the ones I know are right there where they were when I saw them last. Absolutely dependable. The moon is a little sliver and grows in size until it is full, then decreases to a sliver again. Absolutely dependable. Pulled by that moon's gravity, the tides are so predictable that a good meteorologist can tell to the minute when the tide will be high and when it will be low. Absolutely dependable. God provides certain constants in this world to reveal what he is like. Absolutely dependable.

In another Psalm, we read, "The heavens declare the glory of God." (Psalm 19:1)

Steadfast is a lovely word! I am so grateful that my God is absolutely dependable! Absolutely steadfast! How beautifully Jesus portrays this to us as he moved toward the cross without a moment's wavering!

Lord I take great joy in knowing that you are steadfast in your love of me, your needy child. Please teach me to be like you, steadfast in my love for you. Amen

Hallelujah! He is Risen!
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2011
compiled by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
reproduced and edited by Patience Fort