Amy Boucher Pye

Category: Devotionals

  • Devotional of the week: Psalm 18:8-12

    Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty

     

    Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. (Psalm 18:8–12, NIV)

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    As David tells of God’s deliverance, he uses powerful images to show how Yahweh manifests himself to his people. We see God’s anger at evil and sin through the smoke, consuming fire, and burning coals. Fire, and especially consuming fire, is a common metaphor in the Bible. It purifies and cleanses all that is not holy as it dispels the darkness. Like the fiery sun, it is the source of life.

    Though holy to the core, God in his graciousness hides himself in the dark clouds, for his presence would overwhelm us. We who are sinful cannot stand before him unaided. Even hidden, his brightness shines through.

    God’s holiness is an attribute we modern people often dismiss, ignore, or dilute. For instance, we may fail to name sin when it pervades our lives. It may be systemic evil, such as racism or classism, that we disregard. It may be our “harmless gossip” at church, school, or work. It may be a root of bitterness to which we cling. We so easily compromise, rationalize, and liberalize.

    But God calls us to be holy as he is holy. And through his Holy Spirit he enables us to live a life of righteousness, truth, and love. As the apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). He will give us the resources we need to be holy, to stand up for truth with a spirit of grace. And out of this will flow his life-affirming gifts: ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22).

     

    For prayer:  “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire’ ” (Hebrews 12:28–29).

  • Devotional of the week: Psalm 18:4–7

    Deadly cords and snares

    The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Psalm 18:4–7 (NIV)

    As David continues his song of thanksgiving, he recounts how God has saved him. His imagery is gripping: death, destruction, and the grave. He speaks of the ensnaring cords that circle him, trap him and knock him to his knees. The torrents of destruction spark images of floods of rushing, swirling, deadly water.
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    © Akarelias | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

    But he calls to the Lord for help and his voice is not ignored. Yahweh in his heavenly abode hears the cry of the oppressed. He who is all-powerful and all-holy makes the earth tremble through his anger at injustice.

    The Lord wants to save us from any binding cords. They may be the pain of a friend’s betrayal; disease that wastes the body and taxes the mind; the depression that feels like a suffocating cloak. Or they may be the fear of failure; a crippling lack of self-confidence; an addiction to comfort eating, shopping, sex or other self-soothing behavior.

    In our fallen world there aren’t always easy answers to the litany of the snares of death. But our God is the champion of his people, whether or not the cords are of our making. He’s not locked away in a distance palace, but when we cry out, as David did, our voice reaches his ears.

    And he responds. Sometimes he shakes the earth with his anger, like Jesus raging against those selling cattle and exchanging money in the temple. Or he is a rock in turbulent times, as we saw last week. Or he sends healing, like that heralded by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah (see Isaiah 58:8 or Jeremiah 33:6) or that enacted by Jesus as he healed the lepers or the hemorrhaging woman.

    Like David, we can cry out to God, for he hears us and will free us from our cords of death.

     

    Prayer: Lord, the waters are rushing over me. Come and rescue me; hear my cry.

  • Devotional of the week: Psalm 18:1-3

    Rock

    My rock and refuge

    I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1–3 (NIV)

     

    This psalm begins with an impassioned cri de coeur – I love you, Lord! David’s adoration and thanksgiving pours out in an intimate declaration. These are the words of lovers, of parents and children, of closest friends. And they are the words of an earthly king spoken to the heavenly King who rescued him from his enemies.

    David employs seven metaphors to describe the saving nature of God: Yahweh is his rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn of salvation and stronghold. These images relate to the military battles David fought throughout his life and to how God provided him with physical safety as he hid from his pursuers, swords drawn and ready to strike. In danger, he called to the Lord for help.

    We may not need to take cover in mountain hideaways, but God wants to be our rock – our firm foundation. With him the building of our lives will withstand powerful and dangerous storms. Indeed, as Paul said to the Ephesians, we have been “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (2:20–21).

    And God yearns to be our stronghold and fortress. In David’s time a fortress was a remote rocky spot that was used as a place of refuge. Its very isolation provided a safe haven. Today too the unchanging God outstretches his arms and welcomes us to take shade in his presence. As Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

    A rock to build our lives on. A fortress for protection. Delivery, safety, refuge and strength. All attributes of the God who loves us and draws us to himself.

     

    Prayer: Lord, help me build my life on your foundation. Shield me this day from those who would oppress me. Hide me in the shadows of your wings. I love you!