Today’s Lectio Divina: Excerpts from Psalm 11. (MsgB)

God’s business is putting things right; He loves getting the lines straight,
Setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall, we can look Him straight in the eye.

OUT OF ORDER.

There’s nothing more frustrating than to find yourself in some public place, like an airport or a shopping mall, and suddenly you realize that you really, really need to go to the bathroom.

Ever been there?

First of all, being in an unfamiliar place, you spend way too much valuable time just looking up and down the hallway for the restroom sign. Then, once you spot the dang thing, you walk as fast (yet gingerly) as you can toward the entrance. With sweet relief nearly in sight, you scurry up to the entrance and there it is!

The OUT OF ORDER sign. Hanging so nicely and neatly there on the wall.

Double Dang.

At times, I wonder if it might be wise for God to hang one of those ‘OUT OF ORDER’ signs on planet earth. Or maybe He might try one of those orange ‘ROAD WORK AHEAD’ signs?

Or how about one of these?

CAUTION. WORK IN PROGRESS.

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.

HARD HAT REQUIRED.

As I see it, this place we all live and breathe and have our being in is one crooked place that needs some real straightening out. And King David, in Psalm 11, seems to agree with my assessment!

As a matter of fact, the entirety of the Scriptures conveys this one message:

This world God created and so loved, has fallen upon hard times. Turns out the current management team (i.e. Adam and Eve and you and me) has run the place into the ground. Oh yeah, we all had great intentions of being faithful and conscientious stewards of this beautiful blue marble God gave us, but yowsers! Have we made a mess of this thing, or what?

So in the words of John, the Gospel writer, (see John 3: 16) God, who so loved this place we call home, has put an OUT OF ORDER sign on the planet, put on His construction hat and has begun the process of setting things right. As a matter of fact, like King David states here in Psalm 11, God, our loving Father, actually enjoys getting these crooked lines we’ve drawn back in order. Setting us straight. Picking up the trash. Cleaning up the joint. Dusting off the dirty, shining up the silver.

Can you feel it?

The New Testament indicates that Jesus is in the restoration and reconciliation business. Taking old rusty toys like you and me, and not throwing us away, but rebuilding us from the inside out.

And once the job is done and the OUT OF ORDER sign is removed, we will all be standing tall once again; able to look our Creator in the eye once more. No more shame. No more embarrassment for the dirty room we once created.

When I look at it that way, I guess the OUT OF ORDER sign isn’t as much of a frustration but a sign of great hope!

My prayer: God, there are days when the OUT OF ORDER sign is so obvious that I’m tempted to throw in the towel. But thank You for the reminder I find in Psalm 11 that You are about the business of setting things straight. Thank You that You, as the head contractor, are not satisfied with a fresh coat of paint or a wall patch here or there. Thank You that You are determined to completely rebuild and restore Your creation, making it all new again from the bottom up, from the inside out. For Your name’s sake. Amen.

My questions to ponder: How am I cooperating with (or hindering?) God’s complete overhaul of planet earth? Am I part of the OUT OF ORDER problem or am I choosing to put on my hard hat and get to work alongside God, rebuilding and restoring this place according to His blueprints and construction plans?

So what is God speaking to you today as you ponder the Psalms?

Over a 50-week period, you and I will take a deeper look at The Psalms: God’s Songbook of Prayers. In order to keep all the blog sessions organized, we suggest you bookmark our Contemplating the Psalms home page for ease of use. Keep in mind that one of the best ways to explore the on-going applications of this blog series is to walk alongside a biblically-based, Christ-centered spiritual director who is familiar with how to make material like this part of your overall spiritual formation in God. Many of our directors in our Sustainable Faith-Heartland network are available to companion you in your journey with Jesus. Click here for more info.

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