Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power, as well as some of the vessels of the house of God. These he brought to the land of Shinar, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his gods.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, August 5, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Life is what it is. Bad things happen. Jerusalem got conquered and its temple treasures got looted. And in this midst of this turmoil and suffering and grief, God showed up, as God always does, sharing the place of the people and opening a way for good things to come of it. In the next month, we’ll be exploring the whole book of Daniel and all the ways good things came of this seeming tragedy, and it’s honestly a fun ride.
I don’t want to downplay the fact that we all experience real pain and suffering in our lives, or claim that it’s God’s will in some way—to try to teach us a lesson or force us to grow. But I do want to say that no matter what is going on in our lives, God is right there with us, and with God’s help, we can move forward and heal and reach a better place.
As a personal example, I ended a 30-year relationship in 2020. One that was fraught from the very beginning with dysfunction, codependency, addictive behavior, and verbal and emotional abuse. Walking away was terrifying and painful and I have never felt more supported in my life as I did in going through that pain. Three years later, after much healing, therapy, recovery support, prayer and meditation, etc. I got brave enough to date again and met the love of my life. He, too, has seen some s--- in his life, and we both recognize that neither of us would be who we are today, or compatible in the incredible way we are, if we had not gone through what we went through.
We all face our personal Nebuchadnezzars and the looting of our temple treasures in one way or another. That’s just life. The question is whether we can be open to seeing a way forward with God’s help, and find the good.
What past hurt in my life wound up being a positive in the long run?
