Psalms 17:8-15

Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, From the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who surround me. They have closed up their fat hearts; With their mouths they speak proudly. They have now surrounded us in our steps; They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth, As a lion is eager to tear his prey, And like a young lion lurking in secret places.

Arise, O LORD, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword, With Your hand from men, O LORD, From men of the world who have their portion in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.

As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

I didn't want to have to abandon the main thesis of this study, that all the Psalms contain an element of worship and praise, at Psalm 17 with 133 left to go. Then our daughter dropped in for a cup of tea, a bit of a chat and a cookie or two on a Lord's Day afternoon. Nothing special, on her way to the next town over, one large enough to have a supermarket where she could get a couple of items needed for their business. Off she went with Betty, I'm sure there will be some conversation which does not require a male opinion, and I didn't feel left out.

Laptop open again and face the question. Bingo! There was my answer. One of my children, a mature adult, took the time out of her busy life for a visit with the old folks. Most of the conversation was not of an earth-shattering portent, rather the exchange of mutual commentary about her siblings, child and husband, an example of the way information moves through many families, a couple of advice seeking questions and small talk.

Do I ever treat my Heavenly Father the same way? A hey Lord, do you have time for a chat? I might be surprised that the emphatic answer, “Yes, of course, I do. I love to hear from my sons and daughters” No, I've got this ridiculous notion that the LORD, God, the Almighty is too busy managing 'all things' to be bothered with my petty interests. It's almost as if I think his 'all things' means 'all things but John's nonsense.'

Maybe it's time to open conversations with my Heavenly Father seeking His advice, maybe even being willing to quit insisting that He ok my handling of situations that didn't turn out too well. Coming to Him for advice is a form of worship.

Reading

Morning Psalm 105, Noon Psalm 161-168, Evening Psalm 45