Daily Devotional • April 11
Psalm 143
1 Lord, hear my prayer,
and in your faithfulness heed my supplications;
answer me in your righteousness.
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for in your sight shall no one living be justified.
3 For my enemy has sought my life;
he has crushed me to the ground;
he has made me live in dark places like those who
are long dead.
4 My spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the time past;
I muse upon all your deeds;
I consider the works of your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to you;
my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.
7 O Lord, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me;
do not hide your face from me
or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning,
for I put my trust in you;
show me the road that I must walk,
for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord,
for I flee to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God;
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 Revive me, O Lord, for your Name’s sake;
for your righteousness’ sake, bring me out of trouble.
12 Of your goodness, destroy my enemies
and bring all my foes to naught,
for truly I am your servant.
Meditation
When something terrible has happened, it rarely has happened before I get out of bed. It’ll come, unexpectedly, on an ordinary day, at an ordinary time. When I was in grade school, I remember the Oklahoma City bombing, the shooting in Columbine, and the multi-terrorist attack known as 9/11. Now I think of the young students I teach and how on a Saturday a few weeks ago, they got up and came to dance class as they always have, and learned one of their classmates had died in her sleep.
Tragedies so often drop a wrecking-ball into a day that started out so ordinarily. In the days and weeks following, I find myself hesitating before getting out of bed, out of dread of the day. Perhaps it will entail another terrible surprise. The Psalmist longs to hear of the Lord’s loving-kindness in the morning, understanding that on such days we may need a reminder of all the good that God is working in our life.
On the day of the funeral for this young girl, I was deeply moved by the overwhelming demonstration of love and support. The funeral was held one town over because the family needed a church big enough to hold the hundreds upon hundreds of people who came to pay their respects. Driving from the service to the cemetery in yet another town, the road was lined with people. The fire company had lined up their trucks and switched on all the lights. Police officers stood at attention. I had dreaded going to the funeral, but what I witnessed that morning was an outpouring of loving-kindness that will remain with me for a very long time.
Jesus came on an ordinary day, in an ordinary way, to an ordinary world. In the face of tragedy and its aftermath, it helps to remember God’s loving-kindness, particularly in the morning when it may take an act of supreme courage to get out of bed and set one’s feet on the path that leads to the day yet unknown.
Sarah Cornwell is a laywoman, ballet teacher, and an associate of the Eastern Province of the Community of St. Mary. She and her husband have five children and they live in the Hudson Valley north of New York City.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, New York
The Diocese of Matabeleland – The Church of the Province of Central Africa
