By Rev. Dr. Nelda Barrette Murriane, First United Methodist Church of Kennedale??
Our Psalm this week (Psalm 104: 1-7) is a poem. It gives us an interpretation to the many voices of nature. We’ve had so much rain but as I sit and listen to the rain, as it sings so sweetly both of God’s great creation and providence. {{more: continue …}}This poem contains everything in the cosmos: cloud and sunlight, light and darkness, sea and land, plant and animal, life and death, are all expressions of the presence of our Lord.?
“Bless the Lord, O my soul!, is a call to worship God in spirit and in truth, and to do so from the depths of our being. Our God, Yahweh is known for His majesty and honor. God has arrayed himself in the splendor and glory. The universe is the garment of God. He is a God of light.
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The appearance of Jesus as His transfiguration: His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light (Matthew 17:2).
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God dwells in unapproachable light. Light is His garment and veil. Think about the blazing splendor of HIs own being. We should be lost in astonishment and are blinded by his insufferable glory.?
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The Scripture says, “You who laid the foundations of the earth”, this is understood by the Psalmist that God is the Creator of all things and He laid the foundation of the earth.This did not happen by chance. The creator is behind all things. In some ways, this modern age is significantly defined by our rejection of God as Creator. Because we have abandoned this fundamental truth, humanity drifts without a proper sense of responsibility or accountability toward its Creator.
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The story of Job, who, in fact, asked the very same questions we are still asking about God. We know what happened to Job but the question is faith. In Psalm 38, God answers, out of the whirlwind, ?I am God and you are not.? ?Where were you when I shut in the sea and made the clouds and commanded the morning?? God asks. On and on it goes, and it leaves Job speechless. ?I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me.? And then Job makes this statement: ?I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.? Think about all the things God has done for you. He always makes a way out of no way. What Job saw was a God far larger, more vast, than anything he had imagined. A God indescribable, who will not submit to human interrogation. A God, in the words of our closing hymn on Sunday morning, ?immortal, invisible, in light, hid from our eyes.? But a God who is real and present with Job, a God with whom Job can talk too, a God who comes close enough to be with Job in all he experiences as HE is with us through all the trials of life. And so the answer is not that God causes or allows suffering but that suffering happens in the freedom of the life God has given. And God shares it, understands it, enters into it with us, weeps with us when we weep, holds us when we fall, and keeps us safe and secure.
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“Bless the Lord, O my soul! I will sing praises and worship the Lord as long as I have breath. God is also worshipped in our thoughts. What we chose to set our minds on reveals what we truly value. We must set our minds on Jesus.
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PRAISE THE LORD! HALLELUJAH!
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“I don’t know how but I know WHO!”
See you on Sunday!?Peace,
Pastor Nelda
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