Deliverance and Hope

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. Psalm 65:5 NRSV

God is not just the God of people but the God of the whole creation. God provides deliverance and hope to people and creation. Not only should we be thankful for what God does for us personally or even communally but also what God does in the whole world - including nature.

In the midst of hurricane season, thanking God for God's power and wonder in nature can be a bit awkward. We tend to see and hear about all the destructive power of nature which seems to reflect badly on God's own awesome power. Many of us wonder how God can allow such awful things to happen. If God is in control, how can God cause the destruction of lives and property?

However, the psalmist focuses us on what God does do rather than complain on what God is not doing. That is the true meaning of thanksgiving. To be thankful means that we focus on what is rather than complain about what we wish could be. Being thankful looks at the world as it is and finds God offering deliverance and hope.

God, thank you for your powers of deliverance and hope. Help us to see these around us this very day. In Jesus' name. Amen

Name one thing you are thankful for in this very moment.

Copyright 2009 Amelia G. Sims