Psalm 46:10 & Hymn 578 Reflection

"Be still then and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, and I will be exalted in the earth."
Psalm 46:10, Coverdale

This morning (9 October, 2021) I read this psalm, also singing, albeit quietly, Hymn 578 from the 1982 Hymnal. I dare say that God was at work in the such a seemingly mundane and routine part of my day-- though I should do better at not seeing my time with God as a mundane part of my daily routine, or that I can't get my day right without beginning with morning prayer, as my day should have God at the very center. I digress. We often believe that unless a word from God literally sweeps us from our regular lives and into something such as extreme asceticism then God is silent. Not so; I am certain that the smaller moments in our lives have God speaking voluminously. Such it was this morning that God hit me with a huge reminder that should be so obvious: in a nutshell, that he is in control over all. He has a plan over all that is happening. What stood out was that as I read psalm 46, it was brought to my mind current events as well as my internal battles. It hit me even more when I opened my hymnal, almost immediately, seemingly by coincidence, to Hymn 578. The lectionary which I have been using (the seasonal lectionary in the 1662 International Edition) is taking me through Job and I just finished 2 Thessalonians in the morning lessons. 
I am sure most, if not all of us, are familiar with Job. Essentially, a devout man of God is stricken with tragedy for an unknown amount of time-- probably for a very long time I would wager. The story basically ends explaining that there are councils unknown to us which we cannot in our limitations comprehend. God gives and takes from us for good, no tragedy is ever in vain, however easier it is to fall to nihilism. The epistles to the Thessalonians reminds me how amidst hardship outside and within, we work in awaiting the return of our Lord with expectant hope. As I was drafting this piece, I was reminded also that the lectionary has for our evening lessons in the Epistle to the Hebrews. The bottom line of Hebrews is that the God of Israel is God over all the nations, Jew and Gentile; and there is no greater way than Christ and not to fall back into our old ways. 
Psalm 46:10 tells me that God will bring all things to halt and will be exalted as he should be. All the work in the world will be judged and God's righteousness will prevail. Hardship will happen and rest assured it is not meaningless. We must stay strong in the Lord, at work with expectant hope and that everything has the Divine Council bringing all things for good; to God's glory and for our salvation.

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