God is our Victory

Verses: Psalms 20 : 1 - 9

Song inspired by the chapter:  Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.

My thoughts about the verses:

There comes a time in our life when we have to accept that we cannot handle things ourselves.  We have to realize at one time or another that there are powers that are much stronger than us.  We have to come to the understanding that we need to look at what is happening in our life and hand it over to God.

God will be the victorious savior we need.  Though it might seem that things are falling down around us we will find our strength and fortitude in God.  Jesus becomes the inner peace that keeps us safe from all harm.

I am contemplating a recent event that happened at our church.  We had someone vandalize the building that we are presently in.  Just like the temple fell and would one day rebuilt.  The windows that were vandalized can be replaced.

What we have to do is look more closely to what the psalmist is saying.  People who follow God will never lose their foundation.  The buildings may fall but our fortitude grows.  People might try to destroy where we worship yet what they miss it is the people that are the Church.

In other verses it says wherever two are gathered in the name of God the Holy Spirit will be there.  The people are what makes the Church a living breathing body.  God wants us to know that we have to put our entire faith into loving and trusting the one that gives us Everlasting life.

God's people have always been resilient.  There are many obstacles and barriers that have come between the people serving God and the Almighty.  Yet, the church continued because it was the hearts that had been changed.  It is through this that we learn that nothing can hurt us.

I  also am thinking about all of the churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions that have been destroyed by war.  Many which were destroyed because people could not accept that different faith traditions believed in the same God.  Believing that their way was the right way.  If you were not of their tradition then your sanctuary did not deserve the same respect as their own.

I go to the Metropolitan Community Churches that have endured fires and vandalism because of their stand on Christianity.  The church buildings were destroyed because of hate of a group of people that were seen to be unfit as Christians.  That other Christian group could not understand the simple principle that God loves us all no matter who we are.

In all these cases there is one thing to remember the buildings may have been damaged.  Lives may have been loss during the destruction.  Yet, the church bodies grew stronger.  In times of great despair the body of Christ grows stronger because of their dependence on God.  No one can ever take that away.

Buildings may come and go but the body of God will not falter.  It will only grow stronger as God takes over and the people that make of the church let God be in charge.

Prayer:

Dear God we come to you thanking you for your strength.  We thank you for teaching us that buildings are nothing more than the material that their made out of.  Help us come to the understanding that church is the people that you place in the buildings to worship.  Help us never to forget this.  In your Holy Name we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you put your sanctuary before your praises to God?  Are you worried about the building instead of serving God?  Are you willing to put aside your love for where you worship and put worshiping God first?