NOTE: I am playing around with a different approach to my daily blog and would love for your input concerning this approach. Thanks for visiting and taking the time to read what this old preacher might be thinking.
Among the many things I need … desire … wish for … long for … hunger and thirst after is relief from the ongoing stress and confusion of living and the wait peace of God’s presence. The Psalmist (121) reassures me that God watches over me. There is nothing that I presently face that will threaten me beyond God’s ability to handle it for me and gives me the strength to face it with confidence. Therein lies my hope.
Scripture: Genesis 17:1-8
Here is the telling of the covenant making between God and Abram. Abram was 99 years old when God made a promise that he was going to be the father of many nations. Because of this chosen position before God Abram’s name is changed to Abraham indicating that something extremely important has taken place.
Reflection: The first thing that jumps off the page is the age of Abram when God made covenant with him … 99 years old! At that age most individuals are looking for a rocking chair, a retirement center, a life of leisure and comfort, opportunities to do a lot of fishing or many rounds of golf. To hear that God is going to start to do something new in and through you when there is already one foot in the grave is truly staggering. At that point in life most of us are pretty much stuck in our ways. We like our daily routines. We want life to be predictable. We are not necessarily open to surprises, discovering new ideas, changing our ways. Abram had to start getting use to a new relationship with God and a different future. To top it off he had to get use to a new name. Normally, it takes me a least a month or more just to remember to place the New Year’s date on my checks. The older I get the longer it takes. 99 years old, new name, and a promise from God!
Prayer: Eternal God, you always know best. You know me inside out. You are more familiar with me than I am with myself. You know when I go out and when I come in. You have and continue to mark my days. You, better than anyone else, know my weaknesses and failings … of the things that go “bump in the night”. Continue to place your call (covenant) upon my soul. Use me Lord … use even me. Amen.
Further reflection from Charles de Foucauld, “Meditations of a Hermit”
“When you are sad, tired, lonely and full of suffering, take refuge in the sanctuary of your soul and there you will find your Brother, your friend, Jesus, who will console you, support you and strengthen you.”
The Struggle: By all appearances this is a young person’s world. There are a number of churches soon to receive a new pastor. In nearly every situation the church asked for a “younger pastor”. I am sure that the Bishop and Cabinet had difficulty finding places for the “old” preachers to serve. The world is hungering for the energy and excitement that comes with being young. So here I sit as a 68 year old. My knees hurt most days. My stamina isn’t what it was to be … my “get-up-and-go-has-gotten-up-and-gone”. There are two many days that I would prefer to simply sit and read a good book, watch a sporting event and/or a movie … and I am only 68! Abram was 99 when God made a covenant with him! And so, I struggle with my relationship with God, i.e. would God chose me for a special covenant relationship? I struggle with the whole idea of accomplishing something new in God’s Kingdom. Can, or should I say, will God use the likes of me to produce “many descendents” … not as in physical heirs, but spiritual heirs? And, is there still a place for me in ministry … hands on, leadership, breaking the bread of life, caring and sharing, walking beside, pointing in the direction that we should go … kinds of ministry?
O Come and Dwell in Me by Charles Wesley:
Hasten the joyful day
Which shall my sins consume,
When old things shall be done away,
And all things new become.
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