"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all."
Psalms 34:19 (NRSV)
Prodigal Thoughts: In the bible app I use, the heading for Psalm 34 is "Praise for Deliverance from Trouble" – of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out and he went away. Being honest, I had to look up what "feigned" actually means. Basically, David "pretended" to be crazy so Abimelech would put him out of the kingdom. He must have been in a pretty bad situation to make this up. In fact, there is another account of this in 1 Samuel 21, where David had been running and hiding from King Saul, who was trying to kill David. When I think about this verse and the background of the incident, David was being cautious, but his hope was solely in God. As Abimelech was a priest, David knew that there were some provisions that he would be able to receive as he was still hiding. I mean, David had to have some nerve to make such a scene in King Saul’s kingdom when there were head-hunters everywhere trying to find him. It seems David has/is reflecting on how God has taken care of him so far and prevented injury and/or death so far. The hand of God has saved David’s life over and over again and David penned a song about how amazing God is. What if we lived with hope and faith in what God can do in and through our lives? How would that change our day-to-day interactions with others? Not that we should go around stirring up trouble, but knowing that as we are living in a manner that is Christlike and that our Heavenly Father upholds the righteous.
Prayer for today: Father, You truly are mighty and worthy of praise. Even when we are facing our most desperate times of need, You are there. You continue to guide us on a path that was paved by Your Son and that will lead others toward Your loving and welcoming arms. May we appear a bit crazy from the world’s standards as we live our lives in surrender to You and fueled by the compassion and grace you have extended to us. I love You, Papa. Amen.
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God’s grace on you…
Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio
Prodigal Thinker 
Let’s hear it for the Hand of God!
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