“Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also. For me life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away . . . I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel . . . But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.” Psalm 31: 9-10, 12, 14-15
Many of us have had times when we have felt like what was expressed in verses 9-10. These verses outline a life that is filled with distress, grief, sorrow, declining strength, and whose body is worn down. For those of us who have gone through periods like this one, it is extremely difficult to function or to maintain any hope.
The writer goes on to say that their body is like someone who has died, and they feel like a “broken vessel.” A broken vessel can’t do what it was made to do, that is to hold something liquid, thus the owner has no use for the vessel any longer. For it to be of any use, it must be repaired or it will have to be torn away.
How this relates to the spiritual pilgrimage is that as imperfect human beings, we too are broken and need to be repaired. One way that this can be done is when we ask God for the forgiveness of our sins and trespasses. As we attempt to strive for the kingdom of God, an important daily step is the act of repentance, turning around, or conversion, however you state it.
This can be often overlooked by those on this spiritual journey because it can be viewed as a once in a lifetime action, rather then a daily one. When this is done, we can then repeat the words in verse 14 that we can trust in the Lord God, whose hands we are in! Vernon T.
Prayer: God of repaired vessels and humans, help me to daily ask for this repentance and to be made whole again, so that my new life can be shared with those I meet today!
Many of us have had times when we have felt like what was expressed in verses 9-10. These verses outline a life that is filled with distress, grief, sorrow, declining strength, and whose body is worn down. For those of us who have gone through periods like this one, it is extremely difficult to function or to maintain any hope.
The writer goes on to say that their body is like someone who has died, and they feel like a “broken vessel.” A broken vessel can’t do what it was made to do, that is to hold something liquid, thus the owner has no use for the vessel any longer. For it to be of any use, it must be repaired or it will have to be torn away.
How this relates to the spiritual pilgrimage is that as imperfect human beings, we too are broken and need to be repaired. One way that this can be done is when we ask God for the forgiveness of our sins and trespasses. As we attempt to strive for the kingdom of God, an important daily step is the act of repentance, turning around, or conversion, however you state it.
This can be often overlooked by those on this spiritual journey because it can be viewed as a once in a lifetime action, rather then a daily one. When this is done, we can then repeat the words in verse 14 that we can trust in the Lord God, whose hands we are in! Vernon T.
Prayer: God of repaired vessels and humans, help me to daily ask for this repentance and to be made whole again, so that my new life can be shared with those I meet today!
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