Deeper Longings with Danielle
27 May 2020
Hi, I’m Danielle and I am a member of RHC’s third congregation.
So we are many weeks into Singapore’s circuit breaker and the situation has all affected us in some way. For some it has created more time with cancelled social activities or work has scaled down. But for others, especially those with children, it might be the contrary, with a time of greater anxieties, or more items on our to-do list to clear each day to care for our families, or even manic work with the lines between personal and professional blurred. Wherever we find ourselves on this spectrum, a good question that applies to all of us, is what have we been spending the time we have, little or much, thinking about?
As I consider how my days are filled with thoughts of whether the number of cases in Singapore is going down or up, or how I can get the next meal on the table, or how I feel helpless to support the vulnerable in our communities, I was reminded of Psalm 1.
Let me read from verse 1 to 4:
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. ln all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”
I reflected on how regardless of whether I was incredibly busy or idle during this season, I could equally be turning my eyes to things other than God. And on the converse, whether busy or free, I could also be choosing to delight in God’s word and that God could be the firm foundation on which I am planted instead of the changing winds and uncertainty, or the many tasks which come to define my day. In fact, it is the Lord that supplies all I need as He nourishes with fresh streams of water when I feel dry, brittle and drained from all that is demanded of me or I feel overwhelmed from the staleness of how everyday feels like a repetitive groundhog day. There is so much encouragement in God’s word. Let’s pray through it.
Dear Lord, help us to look to you and to meditate on your word. Help us not to just fill our days with the things we need to do, or can do, and end up taking our eyes off you. Instead Lord, we pray that your word will speak to us as we meditate on it. Help us to bring our anxieties, grief and boredom to you. Let your truths sustain us and may it flourish in our hearts like a tree planted by streams of water. And we pray, Lord, let there be fruit in the way we love and serve those around us, especially those who are closest to us at home, and those who may be vulnerable in this time. Help us delight in you. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.