Many scholars believe that the writer of Psalm 71 was older, looking back over the course of a long life when he or she wrote this song. We get clues:

For you, O Lord, are my hope,

    my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

So even to old age and gray hairs,

    O God, do not forsake me,

Upon you I have leaned from my birth…

As the poet looks back over the span of life, she remembers… She remembers how God had carried her, rescued her, delivered her in the past. In fact, we see this all throughout the psalms — a remembering, a recalling, a retelling. And in that remembering, there is hope.

Several years ago now, as a part of one of our worship services, I invited our congregation to take a few moments to reflect on those moments when God carried each of them through a wilderness. I asked if they were willing to write out the stories and share them. And they did. I received story after story about how God carried them through cancer, through addiction, and through incredible loss.

I wonder if you were to think back over the span of your life… I wonder if you were to complete the statement, “God, you were with me even when…” — what stories might you have to tell? What witness might you raise? What hope might arise?

Today, take just a few moments to reflect. Write it out into prayer. And as you do, may you give thanks and praise.

Let us pray: Gracious God, thank you for those times when you have carried us through the wilderness of life. Time and again, you have rescued; you have saved. Therefore, as we face the future, we remember, and we have hope; through Christ our Redeemer. Amen.

Spiritual giant Martin Luther once made the claim that God writes the gospel, not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.

Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, “Earth is crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees takes off his shoes…”

In our scriptures, Psalm 8 begins by praying, “O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” In Hebrew thought, a person’s name was not just a word — but a person’s name also represented their character, essence, and presence. O Lord, how majestic is your presence — your essence — your power in all the earth.

Think about those times when you’ve seen an awe-inspiring sunset; or when you’ve been on a mountaintop and it’s breathtaking; or you’ve been on the ocean and you have watched the pelicans soar just above the breakers. It’s moments like these when we feel connected to something so much bigger. It’s moments like these that you can almost feel God’s presence, right there.

Today, if you are able, try to get outside and enjoy God’s good creation. If you are not able, spend some time looking out a window. Take a walk in your mind’s eye. Look around at God’s handiwork. And give thanks.

Let us pray: O God, we don’t have to look far to see your fingerprints — in the stars, the sunrise, the movement of the ocean, and the reflection of trees on a pond. We also see your fingerprints right here in the beauty of the people all around us. Help us never fail to notice — and help us never fail to give thanks. We love you, Lord. Thank you for loving us. Amen.

Today’s message was written by my friend Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

In Chicago, a man was about to cross a busy street when a lovely young girl walked up, led by a seeing-eye dog. He realized that she was blind. The lights changed, and the people started crossing. He was about to offer to help her across the street when a big fellow stopped his truck, jumped out, and said, “Lady, can I help you across the street?”

“Oh, thank you, but no,” she replied. “I have to trust in my seeing-eye dog. If I depend on someone else, the dog won’t guide me.” “How can he tell when the lights change?” the man asked. “I don’t know how he knows,” she answered as the dog began leading her across the crowded thoroughfare, “but he knows. And he’s never failed me!”

You know, this is just how it is with us when the lights in our lives are changing and we’ve got to move ahead… we can’t panic. We’ve got to trust our guide — God — and walk by faith. We can’t see the way, but God can. And he will guide us to safety — he’s never failed! In Proverbs we read: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart… and he shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5–6)

Let us pray: God of all beginnings, and God of all middles and endings as well, we bow in your presence to confess our dependence on you. Lord, we trust you. Clearly you have made everything beautiful in its time. Everything good that has ever happened to us… we owe to you. For only by your grace through Jesus Christ do we understand life as we do, and value those things that give meaning to our existence. Now grant that when our life is ended, we may hear you say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Many years ago, Barbara Bartocci wrote about a time when she was searching for the perfect birthday card for her husband. She came across a humorous one. On the outside, it read, “Sweetheart, you’re the answer to my prayers.” On the inside it read, “You’re not what I prayed for exactly, but apparently, you’re the answer.”

That funny birthday message became the Bartocci family motto over the years. Whenever a family member struggled with a setback or disappointment, someone would remark, “Well, it’s not what you prayed for, but apparently it’s the answer.” The family learned to find comfort and wisdom in accepting life as it was, not as they would have it be.

There is no doubt about it, humor helps us deal with the heavy side of life. And it is true that sometimes God answers our prayers with a “Yes,” sometimes “No,” and sometimes “Not Yet.” While we don’t always know how God is at work, we can trust that God is at work. Even when the answer looks different from what we imagined, God’s wisdom, love, and timing are at work in ways we may not yet see. Life may not go according to our plans, but God’s grace meets us in the unexpected, shaping us, teaching us, and guiding us toward what we truly need.

Let us pray: Gracious God, help us to trust your answers, even when they surprise us. Give us patience, perspective, and the ability to see your hand at work in the unexpected. And let us meet life — with all its twists and turns — with joy, faith, and even laughter. In Christ’s name. Amen.

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Listening to a podcast some time ago, I heard a worship leader at a church in Grand Rapids speaking about himself. He said, “In my life, in the past, I found that I so quickly become the cynic. I so quickly become the critic. I would only see what was wrong all the time, and I’d be the first to point it out to anyone who’d listen. And you know, everybody loves that guy. But I just thought I was one of the perceptive ones, one of the smart ones. And here I was standing at the back of the room throwing stones at everything. It is so easy to find and point out what is wrong. But it takes courage to believe. In a world where there is so much darkness, so much sin, it takes the deepest courage to stand up and find the good — to hold out hope, and to choose to find God’s fingerprints everywhere.”

It’s so true, isn’t it?

My prayer for you today is that you would have the courage to believe. May you be able to let go of any bitterness or cynicism. And may God grant you eyes to see his hand at work in every aspect of your life.

Our prayer today has been passed down to us through the centuries. It was written by Alcuin of Tours sometime around the year 800. Let us pray:

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts.

Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil.

Eternal Power, be our support.

Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance,

that with all our heart and mind and strength, we may seek your face,

and be brought by your infinite mercy to your holy presence;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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