Church Staff devotions: Unfailing Love - Psalm 33 v 22

Psalm 33:22    May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

I don’t know if you watched the Masters from Augusta yesterday, but I managed to see the last hour of the broadcast and witnessed one of the best ends to an international golf tournament. It didn’t happen on the golf course, but it took place after Phil Mickleson won the event for the third time.

Phil found his wife Amy in the crowd and tearfully embraced her. It was a very touching moment because Amy has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer. You could see that both of them were very much in love with one another and that Mickleson was sharing his win with his wife. He played courageously throughout the last round and I feel certain that he was playing as much for Amy as he was for himself.

I hope and pray that their unfailing love and support for one another will enable and empower Amy to overcome the cancer.

We all face battles in life – sometimes through illness, sometimes with fear and anxiety, sometimes accompanied with despair and depression. I like what the psalmist prayed long ago for God’s people –“May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.” I think that’s a wonderful, powerful, and yet simple prayer that we all could apply in our lives. It helps us to do two things: to look for God’s unfailing love in the midst of our sorrows, and to place our hopes in Him.

It’s called faith and throughout my own life, I have frequently used that prayer and have known the precious and positive empowerment that God gives through just being simply and sincerely asked.

Prayer:                        Lord God, thank You for loving us unfailingly. Thank You for allowing us to trust in Your ways, to rely upon Your promises, and to know Your favor. In Christ’s Name, we thankfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s drawing of Hogan’s Bridge at Amen Corner in August. You can view a larger version here: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4333271971_84d55b7508_b.jpg