I don’t want to thank you for tempestuous wind and other weird stuff too. - April 16

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 146, 147; PM Psalm 148, 149; Exod. 13:3–10; 1 Cor. 15:41–50; Matt. 28:16–20

In the psalm that we hear in the afternoon, it is a song of praise that gives thanks for much of creation. There is a thanksgiving of waters, and praising of sea-monsters (yes, you read that correctly), thanksgiving for fire and hail and snow and tempestuous wind. There is thanksgiving and praise for mountains and trees and wild beasts, and winged birds, and of course people both young and old.

Earlier this week, there were some wild winds that ravaged northern Alabama and Tennessee. I remember feeling on Monday morning a smidgeon of gratitude that the tempestuous winds seemed to bypass Birmingham on Easter. I then saw on social media that some of my colleagues in Chattanooga were not so lucky. How can the psalmist give thanks for something so destructive, or fire, or hail or sea-monsters? Well, hail did help the church a few years ago, or our insurance policy did (depends on your perspective).

Some of the social science around being able to healthily navigate adversity suggests that our ability to reframe situations and a posture of gratitude helps us to thrive and be well. I am not sure that I am grateful for tempestuous winds (or other weird stuff too), or the other things that we experience that seem to cause such destruction in our lives, but there is something about having just proclaimed those words and offering them in prayer. I wonder if it makes us more grateful to be able to praise in word what we are not yet able to in our lives?

There is a pattern in the psalms that is important to digest and maybe this is why it is so important to read them day after day in a structured way. I don’t want to suggest that we should feel grateful or thankful for everything we experience, but when the psalms invite us to go somewhere uncomfortable, I do believe it is possible that it can help mold us in a way that helps us rest more deeply in the love of God.

- John+

Questions for reflections

  • What are the naturally occurring things of the world that you have trouble praising or giving thanks for?

  • Are there other people who are grateful for those same things?

Daily Challenge

  • If you have yet to try the rhythm of all of the Daily Scripture readings, make a plan this week to read one psalm a day. I suggest the first psalm listed in the daily readings each day.

John Burruss