Borrow from tomorrow
1 “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.
4 I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name, I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You.
6 On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night.
7 Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
9 They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God’s name will praise Him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.”
From an early age on, my parents taught us that we ought never to be boastful about things we did or could do. And yet, going against better knowledge, I am going to tell you that I am actually very good at doing something. I am extremely quick at it and can do it effortlessly.
I am very skilled and good at “borrowing tomorrow’s trouble”. I know; not something to really boast about; I agree. I am probably not the only one who likes things calm, secure and “don’t rock my boat too much” with uncertainties and pending disasters. Our minds can go in all different directions, with all kinds of “what ifs” and scare the wits out of ourselves, resulting in anxiety and fear for tomorrow. We can feel crushed by burdens we are borrowing from the following day, and the following week, maybe even from
months away. And so, we carry more than God gives us to carry, and it robs us of our joy.
A few Sundays ago, Pastor Joel was talking about “borrowing tomorrow’s joy”. And it occurred to me that we have a choice, don’t we, about what we borrow from tomorrow. We either borrow joy & peace because of hope or we borrow trouble, fear, and anxiety.
In today’s lectionary text, Psalm 63, David writes about his longing for God, for His Presence amid the threat of his enemies, in a dry and weary land. He doesn’t pretend that everything is okay, that his enemies who seek his life aren’t there, that he isn’t surrounded by the darkness of the night.
But amidst his troubles, David remembers the Lord, and he meditates on God’s promises. He is comforted by knowing that he can find rest, shelter, and protection in the shadow of the wings of Almighty God.
He can sing, and with joy praise the name of His God. David is only able to do this because of the steadfast hope he has. He knows that God will uphold him during all his troubled moments. He can sing because his heart is unshaken. He knows that God’s love is better than life itself.
The truth is, knowing joy and peace goes together with experiencing trouble, sadness, and sorrow. Not instead of it. When we are called to go through the fire, or to rest in being submissive to the sovereign plans of the Lord in whatever shape or form, God promises us His strength and His Presence. It is a lesson we sometimes are required to learn. But this lesson will often result in finding a deep joy not known before, a peace that passes all understanding because it is a peace that happens when turmoil is still around and circumstances haven’t necessarily changed.
This Thanksgiving week, God is reaching out to us, asking us to give up our burdens of worry, burdens of anticipated disasters, our uncertainties and He tells us that with Him, our burdens are light. He wants to put praise in our hearts amid the challenges we face, to look to tomorrow and borrow His joy and peace that will be ours for eternity. Let’s together praise Him today, for His love for us is better than life.
Thank you, dear Lord, that we are able to sing in the shadow of Your wings. We are forever cared for and protected by Your Almighty Hand, even if we face hardships right now. You are our salvation, our strength, and our song. Amen.