The Search
Julie Hinz
Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
Can you make sense of these ramblings,
my groans and cries?
King-God, I need your help. Psalm 5:1 (translation from The Message)
I could go on and on about how Psalm 5 is another song of lament; about how the psalm writer asks God’s providence over them, asking for God’s assistance in overcoming their enemies, etc. It’s all true. But instead, I am going to suggest that you read Eugene Peterson’s version of this Psalm in his translation of scripture called The Message. You can look it up online at BibleGateway.com.
It’s earthy, it’s human, it’s joyful, it’s demanding … and it resonates deeply with our life today.
Does God hear our ramblings? Our fretting? Our weeping? Every day we lay our lives before him and wait on his will. Is he hearing us? Seeing us? The ageless answer is “YES!” God has invited us, opened the doors, sent the invitation, shouted our names. We are welcomed with open arms into shelter God has prepared. Given prime seats at the party God has planned for us.
I appreciate Peterson’s naming of evils; the Hot-Air-Boasters, the Truth-Benders, etc. They are “land mines” and “mudslides” and in the end, we are reminded, they reap what they sow. We know those people. We experience them in our lives. We see them on TV. They are everywhere. And yet they are nowhere near our destination. God is the bouncer who stands guard over our forever festival of the faithful.
God welcomes “faith-seekers.” Notice the use of “seeker.” Not God finders or acquirers. The life of faith is not static or accomplished while we live. Each day we continue the search, looking for and to God. It is not until we move to our final residence at God’s side that we fully “find” God, where we are finally safe, secure, and decked out in robes of righteousness.
God, thank you for hearing us. For keeping us safe in your arms and inviting us into life with you. Amen.
Encounters With Christ 