It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.
Psalm 119:71 (ESV)
Dear HLPC family,
Psalm 119 has the distinction of being not only the longest Psalm but also the longest chapter in the Bible. It is a long meditation on God’s Word and various synonyms are used for the Scriptures in addition to His Word such as: God’s law, God’s testimonies, God’s statutes, God’s precepts, God’s
commandments, and God’s rules.
In the passage quoted above, the Psalmist reflects on how God used affliction and suffering–He used it that the Psalmist might learn God’s truth in His Word. I find that helpful in our own context. The levels of suffering we are experiencing are varied. The social distancing is hard. We are made for relationships. We are made to live out our faith within a covenant community known as the church. While technology has helped greatly, we still long for this to be over. We are concerned for the economic consequences for ourselves and those we care about.I hope this time has driven you to His Word for comfort and courage. Perhaps one way God is using this for our good is by moving us deeper into the Scriptures. That would indeed be a blessing of what we are
enduring. May God give us grace to spend time in His Word and benefit from reading it and hearing it taught and expounded.
Along those lines, I hope you’ll make time to join us tonight at 7 pm for our Facebook Live study on“Psalms for the Stressed.” We’ll be looking at Psalm 30 together.
I’m excited to announce that, weather permitting, we are going to try an outdoor worship service at the church on Sunday, May 10th! We believe this will be a very safe option for us to gather. You will receive more information next week on what this will look like for us as we will incorporate safe practices into this gathering. Please be praying for good weather and for wisdom as we continue to work on the
logistics.
I hope to “see” you tonight at our Facebook Live study!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Paul