Psalm 85:1-2,8-14: Hope Assured

Lectionary Cycle Year B: Second Sunday in Advent
Psalm 85: 1-2, 8-14 (Read it on Bible Gateway)
Hope Assured
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The reading from the Psalms for this Second Sunday of Advent is another prayer of petition for God's intervention and restoration such as the selection last week (see Devotions:Psalm 80). Perhaps because of this, the Lectionary does not include the full Psalm. Instead we have the opening two verses, which are a reflection on God's mercies and blessings offered in the past, then jump over the actual petitional prayer itself, that has very similar language to Psalm 80. We instead move immediately into the final two sections of the Psalm that offer a reflection on God's coming mercies and blessing and an assurance that the prayer itself has been heard.

Since we focused on a petition last week, let's follow the Lectionary's lead and look at what this Psalm offers in these sections.

Whenever we are facing any kind of challenge, it can be helpful to reflect on challenges we've faced in the past. Many times those are challenges we succeeded in overcoming, or at least, ones we managed to survive, move past and see brighter days once again. This is helpful because it reminds us that "even this shall pass," meaning that whatever we are facing now is something that tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, will not be as bad, if we even remember it at all! When people become overwhelmed with problems, one of the first signs of succumbing to depression or hopelessness is a pervasive feeling that nothing will ever get better. Reflecting on past challenges when they felt the same, but indeed, things did get better, can break that cycle of surrender.

It can be especially reassuring to us as Christians in the midst of troubles to look back and to remind ourselves when God's intervening hand has reached into our life before. It strengthens our hope, belief and faith that God will do so again.

The rest of the Psalm really focuses on this line of thought and takes great assurance and inspires great hope for the future based on that remembrance of the past. Verses 8-9 show an expectation for God's response and a willingness to embrace that when it comes. The rest of the Psalm then assures God will hear the prayer that has been lifted and from that will come relief.

Many of us most likely have a story when our faith truly became 'real' and vital to us, God became more than a character in the Bible and a living part of our own lives. For some that may have been a moment of commitment or conversion to faith. For those who have been raised in the faith, it most likely was the moment when our faith became more than a collection of teachings and ideas and instead became something to experience.

A good many of those stories would include some variation on the theme of "God became real when I was struggling with (fill in the blank) and God pulled me through!" These would range from miraculous interventions, such as cancer going into remission, to seeing the spirit of a loved one who died, to more mundane but nevertheless significant interventions.

One of the greatest assurances we can have in our faith, and one of the greatest sources of our hope is the remembrance and knowledge that God has been there for us in the past. It is for this very reason that our faith sometimes seems strongest in the midst of turmoil, because we remember, we depend on and we are inspired by hope that God will do it again.

As a preacher and now as a Christian writer, this to me, is one of the central themes of Scripture. It is a record of God's relationship with us, God's chosen children. It is an assurance to us that God loves us, has always loved us, and will always love us, no matter how imperfect we are, no matter how many times we fail or fall short. The Scripture is a collection of hundreds of stories about hundreds of people who depended on God and were not disappointed in that dependence. Scripture is the promises of God proven out on a track record as long as history.

For the complete listing of our Devotions, see our Devotions Archive