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Psalm 139:9-10
August 30, 2024 by Rebecca Littlejohn
DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
Psalm 139:9-10 – If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. (NRSV)
There’s a meme that’s gone around on social media over the past few years offering a “work tip”. The instructions are as follows: “Stand up. Stretch. Take a walk. Go to the airport. Get on a plane. Never return.” As I am about to take some time off involving a round-trip on a plane, I join you in hoping that this advice doesn’t even need to be taken to that extreme to be effective!
As we look toward Labor Day weekend, it’s helpful for us to consider the amount of space that work takes up in our lives. It’s ironic that some of the jobs that are the hardest will likely be the ones that won’t get Monday off. Many folks who are feeling stressed out by their jobs would probably like to “take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea.” It’s actually pretty good advice for all of us, once in a while.
And for people like me, that is, pastors, for whom even God can seem like an item on the To Do list sometimes, it’s really important to be able to re-connect with the Divine at the farthest limits of the sea (or the other side of the continent), instead of in the office. So many of you have lots of “jobs” here at church too, so I wonder if you need that advice as well. Do you need to take a moment some morning soon (though hopefully not this Sunday!) to follow the “wings of the morning” and discover God’s hand holding you anew, in a place where you have no responsibilities other than to open your heart to the blessings of the Holy Spirit?
If we can develop our awareness of God’s presence with us, wherever we are, we’re much less likely to need to run screaming into the hills. The stretch and the walk might be enough to restore our equilibrium, once we’ve re-connected our souls with the Holy One. But just in case, you can trust that God will still be with you even if you follow the “wings of the morning”!