Tackle Your Challenges With Jesus

 

THU EP Reflection 100120 (Ps 105; Luke 6: 1-11)

Admiral McRaven was delivering his commencement address when he asked students to start their day by making their bed as the first accomplished task of the day. This is what he said: “Often life is hard and that sometimes there is little you can do to affect the outcome of your day. In battle soldiers die, families grieve, your days are long and filled with anxious moments. You search for something that can give you solace, that can motivate you to begin your day, that can be a sense of pride in an often times ugly world. But it is not just combat. It is daily life that needs this same sense of structure.” It seems like the Admiral has captured what often our ordinary lives look like. This same daily structure I imagined what it must have looked like for Israelites. Their journey is recounted in part 2 of Psalm 105 with key interesting themes. One is the faithfulness of God. Do we ever recount our own history saying how God was instrumental in making sure we were okay over all these years? This is what the Psalmist does. He sings for the majesty and glory of God. He tells the story of a people in a strong relationship with God. Everything was not hanky dory. Their God made sure they were free from Egyptian slavery, and the process took 40 years and incredible obstacles all the way. God kept his word and delivered his promise. God is faithful.

 I am drawn to think of how to praise God in my own life telling my own story of how God delivered me from horrific situations that threatened my life. This is a good exercise to make in life, just like the Admiral told student to begin their day by making their bed. Believe in the faithfulness of God and let God guide and lead your day. You might be facing incredible challenges, especially at this time, but look to Jesus for guidance and support. Israelites faced formidable obstacles, they had years that look like our 2020, but God never left them. They did not only survive, they thrived. I want to focus on two verses of Psalm 105: V 31 He spoke, and there came swarms of insects and gnats within all their borders. V 34 He spoke, and the locust came, and young locusts without number. Both verses begin with the words: God spoke.

Whereas the whole chapter talks about what God did, these particular two verses tell us about what happened after God spoke. I want to highlight here the power of the word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Not only this word comes and fight for you like these verses said, but also this word can heal infirmities, and bind brokenness. This is what the Gospel according to Luke tells us: “Jesus said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was restored.” I can’t imagine what it is like to have withered hand. It might mean he could have been born with the malformation; or it could have been trauma, where the nerves could have been damaged. Could we think of other situations, where psychological trauma might cause a person to no longer move the muscles and become stuck. All these situations do exist in our world. Jesus powerful word was heard and the hand was stretched. Admiral McRaven talks about the power of hope. Believe in Jesus, and let him take you through life… don’t fear, even in failure, God has your back! Don’t give up!

Obstacles we will have, that’s for sure! The difference is in how we tackle them. Those who sail, or fly know how important it is to be in the right disposition with regards to the wind. Without this correct disposition, we are likely to be thrown to and fro depending on where the wind comes from. Jesus is our stabilizing pillar; you might have already been wounded by circumstances. We just heard how only his word, can fix things that seems impossible to strengthen up. What can’t Jesus fix? I want my daily structure to be full of Jesus! I want to rely on Jesus for every part of my day.

Call on Jesus, if there is any infirmity, any brokenness… Call on Jesus.

Amen.