Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, March 13, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Can we really be kept from evil? Life can be pretty challenging. Maybe not evil, exactly, but bad things do happen. People get sick. Have freak accidents. Suffer abuse. Are generationally traumatized. Lose all their possessions and wind up homeless. Fall victim to addiction. Live in war zones. Starve to death. Probably most of these folks are praying. Probably most of these folks find themselves wondering how the sentiment in this Psalm can be true.
While I can’t speak to some of these extreme challenges, I’ve had plenty of things happen in my life that have shaken my faith. I’ve wondered where God is. But in the end, I’ve taken comfort in the idea that God doesn’t desire evil for us. Or do evil to us. God suffers with us, and acts in our lives directly and through those around us. Ultimately, no matter what happens to us, God is there, keeping our life, even in the midst of our death.
Where do I see evil in the world? How do I see God’s protection from it?