Today's Reading: Introit for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity

(Psalm 55: 1, 4-5, 16; antiphon: vs. 16a, 17b, 18a, 22a)

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 20:24-42; 1 Corinthians 1:1-25

I call to God, and he hears my voice; he redeems my soul in safety. (From the Introit for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The psalmist says that God is near enough to you to hear your voice. He is close enough to carry your burdens and sustain you. It sounds great, but plenty of Christians still collapse under burdens too heavy to carry. Plenty cry out to God and don't hear an answer. Fear and trembling come upon them, and horror overwhelms them. The Lord promises to save, but if you don't know where to look, the promises seem empty.

His will is not to hide when we need mercy, but become all the more apparent. This was never meant to be a secret, a riddle, or some kind of inner peace that you have to achieve. Where you look for God in days of trouble matters. There is a place He has promised to be. You won't find Him anywhere else. It is where He redeems your soul. In the darkest of times you'll find God on the Cross for you.

To look elsewhere is usually to come up empty. Sometimes God works in great power. Sometimes He doesn't. Sometimes your enemies fall. Sometimes they don't. But God always works in great weakness. God becomes man, and He bears the Cross to save those who can't save themselves. He conquers sin, death, and the power of the devil, not by strength, but by weakness, so that those who can't find strength to go on can find God to carry them. It's easy to find God in our trials. He's right where He said He would be. He's a God who can save even in weakness. Cast your burdens on the Lord. Then look to where He bears them upon the Cross. That way we can call our salvation finished even while we still feel fear and trembling.

The answer to the prayers of burdened Christians is "It is finished." The path forward is through the grave and back out again. The hope that surpasses all understanding is that Jesus sustains you by a victory won in weakness. You wear that victory in your Baptism, which isn't a promise that nothing bad will happen to you. It's a promise that nothing bad that can happen to you will keep you in the grave. No burden put on you can stop you from rising, and nothing you can ever do can stain the white robes of salvation you already wear. God has redeemed your soul in safety. In the Name T of Jesus. Amen.

But God had seen my wretched state Before the world's foundation, And mindful of His mercies great, He planned for my salvation. He turned to me a father's heart; He did not choose the easy part But gave His dearest treasure. ("Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" LSB 556, st.4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch