Time for a breather!
by Sal Huckel
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‘I will exalt you, my God, the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever’ (Psalm 145:1).
My friend was training for the London Marathon, which has sadly been cancelled this year. I had no idea about the energy gels, protein foods and the special fuel required to keep runners going. I think this is a week worthy of the spiritual equivalent of those high energy foods! We may be reminded of Paul, who talks about running the race for the prize, as well as the differences between spiritual milk and solid food.
This week’s readings have certainly fed us with solid food to fuel us for the continuing journey. Perhaps in our spiritual marathon, this is the part of the race where we feel we are hitting the wall. Don’t be afraid to get into these difficult and challenging scriptures. All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching!
Reflecting on the readings for this week, we found a simple lesson about the character of God in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. We’ve read details of the story of Saul and David that we may seldom read by choice. We have been challenged by Esau and Isaac, in addition to our New Testament readings.
Choose one of these excerpts and delve deeper. Go slowly, chapter by chapter, and pray for a simple message or ‘take-home’ from each day. Get into the word. Fuel your soul for this workout. But take time out to simply ‘be’, and praise God. If you’re exhausted from all this thinking, use the psalms! The hard work has been done for you. The words are there, waiting to go. It’s a ready meal of praise you can use after an exhausting week of daily workouts and spiritual protein shakes.
Lord, I praise you for the wonderful gift of scripture, for training us in this race, pressing on to win the prize of eternal life, and for helping us to coach others and join them on to our team. May we tell of your mighty acts, meditate on your wonderful works, and praise your name forever and ever. Amen.
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