Help me! But not that way…

Have you ever cried out for God’s help?

In one of the Psalms, the prayer-poet calls out:

But You, O Eternal, stay close;
    O You, my help, hurry to my side.

Save my life from violence,
    my sweet life from the teeth of the wild dog.

(Psalm 22:19 & 20, The Voice)

So many times we call out for help.

And yet, so many times when God offers us help, we get grumpy. With the thoughts of our minds, we make God our enemy.

A Crossing-Arm

The picture that helps us today is of the crossing-arm that comes down at the train tracks.

One evening we were walking on the beach in White Rock, BC. A large train track separates the beach from the car park. As the train gets nearing crossing-arms come down to block the pathway. They shout, “Don’t go this way right now! Just wait!”

And even if we wanted to get to back to our car, we needed to wait. We needed to be safe.

God’s protection

“Save my life,” we ask. And God opens the door to deepening relationship, to strengthening our trust. Or God closes a door to something that would cause us harm.

As we discern where God is at work in the circumstances of our lives, we need a community to be in that work with us.

So often our nervous system can only focus on the one thing that is causing us the most upset. The thing we are focused on might not be the thing that is of greatest danger.

The presence of companions on the journey or of a skilled guide can help us to be nourished during profound challenges. Conversations help us to find new perspectives or see new possibilities. Spiritual Care can help us to trace the hand of God in our lives when our circumstances aren’t what we hoped for.

I wonder, in what ways are the “stop” situations in your life actually part of your being “saved”?
I wonder, which things have you thought were “safe” but are causing you harm?

Creating Partnerships

Do you have a Spiritual Director yet? If not, contact us! Book a complementary session to see if the style of Spiritual Direction that we offer is a good fit for you. We offer Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Direction Supervision by web-meeting. We also partner with other organizations to offer online Retreats.

Living Faith at Home helps individuals and organizations incorporate Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Care into their lives and work with bite-sized practices for everyday faith experiences.

Our podcast, Faith at Home, includes recordings of Listening Practices based on Psalm 22. As you listen along, let us know what stands out to you. What is the Divine’s invitation to you through this prayer-poem? Send us a note to loop us in to the conversation.

May your living faith give you the skill and the relationships you need to walk the Pathway of Wisdom today.

Grace and peace to you,

Jennifer