September 7, 2024 

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 16 - Psalm 28:1-2, 6-7; antiphon: Psalm 28:8

Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:38-5:8; Ephesians 6:1-24

“The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.” (Psalm 28:8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What separates those who have faith in God and those who do not? If you look just at the outside of someone’s life, you may not see much of a difference, especially when it comes to having difficulties or experiencing suffering. Believers and unbelievers alike face hard times in their lives and even great tragedy. Being a Christian doesn’t give us a pass from heartbreak or disaster, but we do know who to put our trust in when we are overwhelmed with hardship. We turn in faith to God and call on his name.  

In this psalm, we find David at his rope’s end; he feels himself sinking under the weight of his struggles. He doesn’t turn inward to find inner strength; he has none. He doesn’t turn to other people or things to give him hope or peace. No, David turns to the one who will not let him down, no matter how bad things may seem. He turns to the Lord, who is his rock and his refuge. That’s what faith does, and that’s who faith trusts: the one true God who promises to hear us and never abandon those who belong to him. David is teaching us what faith looks like in the middle of the whirlwinds and storms of life.  

David is not only a portrait of every believer but a foreshadowing of our Lord Jesus. He, too, was not exempt from suffering, even though he was God. He, too, felt abandoned at the grimmest time of his earthly life – being crucified and dying on a Roman cross. He cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). And yet, Jesus never loses faith. He endures in faith and finally calls out in his dying breath, “Into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46) That’s faith talk. That’s what faith does, even in the darkest of times when you feel God is nowhere in sight.  

David prayed, and he invites us to pray in the thick of our struggles through the words of this psalm, “The Lord is my strength and my shield, in him my heart trusts, and I am helped” (Psalm 28:7). We may not see it, and we may not feel it, but faith prays and trusts in the Lord who is our saving refuge. David’s prayer and ours finally finds its “amen” in Jesus. “Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever” (Psalm 28:9). Our Good Shepherd has laid down his life for us and will carry us through life and into the joys of heaven! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus, refuge of the weary, Blest Redeemer, whom we love, Fountain in life’s desert dreary, Savior from the world above: Often have your eyes, offended, Gazed upon the sinner’s fall; Yet upon the cross extended, You have borne the pain of all. (LSB 423:1) 

-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.