Advent Devotion Week 2 Day 4
Finding God, Looking up, and Psalm 43:3-5
Advent Week 2 continues with another in a series of daily devotions based on scripture from the Stirring up Advent Series. Together, the four steps offer a 20-minute daily devotion for Advent Week 2, Day 4 with the theme "Look Up." Feel free to select a combination of the following steps -- scripture reading, reflection, questions, and closing prayer -- that meet your needs today. Enjoy.
Step 1: Read Psalm 43:3-5.
Step 2: Enjoy the Following Advent Reflection on Psalm 43:3-5, Look Up
"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me" (Psalm 43:5)?
The psalmist asks the first question everyone asks God in times of trouble, "Why"? Everyone, even the psalmist, has bad days, where nothing's going right, morale is low, and the problems and worries of life seem to be winning. Despite hard work, the situation isn't changing, and perhaps the hole's getting deeper.
The psalmist asks God, not for an answer to his problems, but for an answer to how he's feeling. He wonders why his soul is cast down and restless. Losing faith, the ability to notice God and feel God's power in one's life, is normal during difficult times. The psalmist asks God to refocus and recenter him. His eyes are looking away and not able to see God, likely due to circumstances beyond his control.
God says, "Look up! See me. Hello!" Finding faith again requires looking for God. The psalmist spends the rest of the psalm reminding himself, and his audience, that God is there. God's light, God's truth, God's holy hill, God's altar- the psalmist describes God's presence in the world that he's experienced and that he has been taught through scripture.
He reminds himself at the end, "Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God" (Psalm 43:5). The psalmist, like every human being, struggles sometimes to see God in his life and asks God for the grace to again praise God, to look up and see.
This Advent, as the world is looking for Jesus, the light of the world, let all remember the psalmist's example. Even though times are tough and God doesn't seem to be acting, God is there for those who look and wait. Look up, and find God. Amen.
Step 4: Reflection Questions on "Look Up" and Psalm 43:3-5
1. Recall a time in your life when you had trouble seeing God and struggled with the restlessness and lost feeling the psalmist described in verse 5. How did the situation change over time, and what role did God play in it?
2. Is there anyone in your day who is struggling with feeling lost and restless due to circumstances beyond their control- lost job, death in the family or other difficulties? How might you offer the light of God's love to somone with a personal struggle?
Step 4: Closing Prayer on Psalm 43:3-5
Loving God, who calms restless souls and blesses restless spirits, be with all who struggle with difficulties in their lives, remind them they are not alone, and help all your beloved children to look up and see as the world prepares for Jesus' birth. Amen.
Suggestions for Other Advent Prayer Activities
The exercise in step 3 can also be adapted for long-term use by keeping a prayer journal and keeping a daily list of how a specific problem is changing and seeking ways God might be active during that day.
For other advent devotional ideas, try Advent Devotion, Week 2 Day 3 People of Grass. or Advent Devotion, Week 2 Day 5 Decorate for Jesus.
SOURCES:
Holy Bible, NRSV. Oremus Bible Browser. 2008.
Zimmerman, Mark. Stirring Up Advent. Creative Communications for the Parish. 2008.
View of Normal Park, Springfield, Missouri.
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