DAILY DEVOT IONAL 16
Rev. Cameron Overbey
Praise the Lord. God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. - Psalm 147:1,3
(Please read the entirety of the Psalm)
Scattered…like the seeds of Spring filled with the potential of new life and harvest. Scattered…like the stars of a Summer night sky that twinkle and share cosmic beauty overhead. Scattered…like the leaves of Autumn caught up in the stiff, cold breezes of changing seasons. Scattered…like the flakes of Winter that cover everything below as they swirl to the ground.
Sometimes we feel scattered. Scattered physically as we were during the height of the pandemic. Scattered spiritually as we navigate denominational separation. Scattered mentally as we try to keep pace with the torrent of information that we receive each day.
Where can we find respite and restoration from all of this scattering? The Psalmist reflects on the Israelites’ long journey out of exile, a time when the people of God were literally scattered far apart from one another. The reflection begins and ends with the same action, praise. “Hallelu Yah, praise God.” The Psalmist reminds us that praise is a mode of our participation in the creative and redemptive love of God that restores us and is building a kingdom on Earth. It is not a kingdom that is built on displays of raw and violent power, but of humbly confident love.
We can offer praise even when we feel scattered. The God of our healing and wholeness is also the one who scattered the stars to make the heavens, a reminder of the magnificence of creative love that is high above even our most daunting challenges and heartbreaks. So we sing praise under the night sky. When we are being tossed about, perhaps we are seeds of love that are being sewn to be gathered in a new season’s harvest. So we sing praise when we fall into the dirt. When we are aloft and afloat as individuals in a blizzard of humanity, perhaps we are on our way to being regathered into a magnificent snowscape with beauty beyond our individual selves. So we sing praise during the descent. When we are swept away like the leaves of Autumn, perhaps something old is passing away and preparing for new life and birth in Spring. So we sing praise in the midst of death before resurrection.
Like any journey, our shared endeavor towards healing and hope will not be linear. No matter where we find ourselves in the scattering and gathering, may we be found in praise, for praise is always fitting.
QUESTIONS:
1. What are some times in your life that you have felt scattered?
2. Have you ever felt praise or worship to be healing in a time of difficulty?
3. How might God be working among United Methodists to build something new?
PRAYER:
God of our every step, open our eyes so that we may see your creative and redemptive love even when we feel scattered. Open our lips so that we may respond with praise. Open our hearts so that we may be strengthened on our way with resurrection hope. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.