Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, January 1, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
It’s not always easy to trust God. When I read passages like this, I am immediately tempted to think of everyone for whom tragedy or oppression or chronic or life-threatening illness is a part of life. Can we really find hope in this promise that if we just trust God, God will protect us from harm?
My life has had its share of challenges. Addiction, neurodivergent children, dysfunctional marriage ultimately ending in divorce, financial challenges, and relatively minor but frustrating health issues are all a part of my story, past and present. I have had profound experiences of God showing up in my life directly and indirectly over the years, and of deep trust that God is walking with me through everything life has handed me. As a result, I could say I whole-heartedly agree with the sentiment of this passage. But in all honesty, I can’t promise that if I get that breast cancer diagnosis I am at such high risk for I won’t immediately feel betrayed and abandoned, and find it impossible to trust. Or that if some unexpected tragedy strikes, same deal. I have such incredible respect and awe for those whose lives have been unspeakably damaged through circumstances beyond their control and who continue to have faith that God loves and cares for them. I would like to think I, too, would maintain my state of trust no matter what happens, and I follow daily spiritual practices to help me in that regard. But I just don’t know. In the end, I just have to trust that if the worst happens, God will preserve my trust.
What is the worst challenge I have ever faced? How did it affect my faith in God?
