Sunday Devotion: 5 September 2021, Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday Devotions
When we trust in God, God opens windows
Written by clergy and lay people across our Diocesan community, ‘Sunday Devotions’ is a column of short reflections based on a Lectionary reading of the day, suitable for small group discussion or personal use.
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” (Psalm 125.1)
Main Readings: Proverbs 22.1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Psalm 125; James 2.1-10 (11-13), 14-17; Mark 7.24-37 [Isaiah 35.4-7a; Psalm 146]
Supplementary Readings: Psalm 16; Acts 15.36-16.5; Esther 2.1-11, 15-17; Psalm 146; Mark 8.1-22
When I was in a refugee camp in Tanzania for 13 years in the 1990s and early 2000s, I would often worry about tomorrow. There was a period of three years when some thieves would come into the camp at night to steal and kill people. During this time, I was always worried about my safety and about the safety and future of my children. I would count the days that we’d wake up alive, asking God how long I would live this kind of life.
Singing Psalms like this one in the camp gave me comfort. I attended an Anglican church every Sunday in the refugee camp, but I didn’t have a Bible so most of the time my prayer was singing. Through singing, I would find trust and strength in God. When I had a difficult time and was overwhelmed, with tears flowing, I would sing loudly to God.
When we trust in God, God opens windows. He opened the window that brought me to safety, here in Australia in 2006. This Psalm tells me that even in life’s difficult times, you can put your trust in God and that he will take care of you.
I will say to you what I am always telling my six children: put your life in God’s hands. Your future is in God’s hands because without God, you can’t get anywhere. When you trust God while facing difficult times, you are given relief and comfort.
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