A new series was started at church last Sunday. Over 6 weeks they’ll cover 6 individual Psalms. I, like a lot of people, have always felt a real connections to the Psalms. I love that they are creatively written and cover a variety of life and faith experiences. I’m trying to be better about writing on a more consistent basis and this theme felt like a good one to explore. My plan is to take the Psalm and the teaching from Sunday and write a short piece from it each week. These won’t be polished or final drafts. I’m challenging myself to write from a place of truth and let it be whatever it is. If you’re interested in the message that this post is based on visit the messages section of OKCCommunityChurch.com
Psalms 100
There is a stirring in the pit of me
It expands and contracts
It moves and it breaths
It fills the crack of uncertainty
And blurs the lines between human and holy
For I am prone to grumbling
My heart focuses on the have nots, the well whens, and the missed shots
Mistakes cling to the front of my brain
Like a fly on a windshield and I can’t scrub them off
Yes, I am prone to grumbling
To stumbling confusion
And crumbling conclusions
On what is right and real and in-between
But that stirring persists
The goodness draws me in and insists
That my clouded vision isn’t accurate
That my recollection is flawed
That there is, in fact, glory in my guts
And God in my circumstance
So I shout for joy instead
I honestly offer my anger to you
And I shout for joy instead
I give space to my pain
I call it by name
And I shout for joy instead
When I see nature bend toward you
When I see heaven extend toward me
I have no choice but to speak it out loud
Let my thankfulness flow from that stirring
Into all of me and not stop there
Let me be vocal in my gratitude
Let me be light in my attitude
And light in the shadows too
For my God is good and his love endures forever
And while I don’t have the capacity to understand that
While the thought of eternity shakes me, and breaks me, and quakes my need for symmetry and conclusion
I will spend my days reaching out to it
I will shout for joy because I don’t understand
Because the ability to see even the small parts of God for what they truly are is a miracle
Because some of those parts are present in me
And they create a joy that at the very least
Is worth shouting about
Amen
Isaiah Werner 