Caution: Flooded-Out Road Ahead - July 30
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 69:1-23(24-30)31-38; PM Psalm 73; 2 Samuel 5:1-12; Acts 17:1-15; Mark 7:24-37
Today’s Reflection
This spring and summer we have seen so many rainy afternoons here in Birmingham. The almost daily afternoon thundershowers remind me of Florida, where these downpours are the norm summer after summer. These afternoon rains bring refreshment, cooling things off and keeping all the yards and parks so lush and green throughout the summertime. Rainy afternoons and evenings, while they make it challenging to get in a run at the end of the day, are nonetheless a pleasant change after experiencing four years of extremely hot, dry Texas summers.
All these recent downpours have showed me something new about where I live, which is that my street and the park down the road are prone to flooding. In Florida, the daily afternoon rains do not tend to cause flooding due to the sandy soil, which allows the rain to easily sink down through the ground and trickle down into the Florida aquifer. In contrast, what we see happen on our street here is that the rain starts to pool up, and the drainage in our neighborhood is such that the waters quickly start to cover our street and, if it rains heavily for long enough, starts to overflow the creek that runs behind our house, too.
The other thing I have learned about my street is that many locals use it as a cut-through between two main roads in our area. So, here’s what happens when our street and the park at the end of the street flood and then people come down the street to do their usual cut-through: If they are driving in the direction of the park, they get midway down the street, right around our house, and then if they are looking ahead, they will see that the road is impassible and that they will have to turn around—usually backing up in our driveway and turning back toward where they came from (Green Valley). And for the people who either aren’t looking ahead to see the road is washed out—or who see it and foolishly think their car or truck can make it through all the standing water—inevitably they will get just past our yard and then start to very slowly go into reverse until they get back to our driveway—then they turn around and head back up the road to find some other way to get wherever they need to go. From time to time, someone in a very tall truck (the ones with the giant tires) may manage to make it through—or, as happened last week, someone’s vehicle will be overcome by the water, causing their car to stall out and requiring a tow truck to enter the scene.
From my safe, dry vantage point inside my home, when I look out and observe the rising waters and the different ways the drivers respond to a flooded-out road, I have wondered if all this would be a good analogy for when we encounter unexpected situations in life. In Psalm 69, the psalmist seems to have had a similar idea. We find ourselves calling out to God to save us when “the waters have risen up to [our] neck.” There are moments when we become very consciously aware of how overwhelmed we are by our circumstances: “I am sinking in deep mire, and there is no firm ground for my feet. I have come into deep waters, and the torrent washes over me.” But even in those moments when we see how high the waters are rising, or how we may be sinking into the mire, we can hold onto hope. We have a God whom we can call upon for help, who can direct us to turn around and go back another way—or who can provide a tow truck to help pull us out when do end up getting stalled and stuck.
But as for me, this is my prayer to you, at the time you have set, O Lord: “In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your unfailing help. Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters. Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swallow me up; do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me. Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind; in your great compassion, turn to me. –Psalm 69: 15-18
—Becky+
Questions for Self-Reflection
What life situations have you encountered that felt like flood waters rising up to your neck? What life situations have felt like a muddy, miry pit from which your feet could not get unstuck? Looking back, how did God act to get you safely out of the floodwaters and the mire? What do you learn, as you reflect on these situations later, about your faith and about the faithfulness of God?
Daily Challenge
Psalm 69 is a psalm of lament, the most commonly occurring genre within the Psalter. Learn more in this article on “Psalms of Lament” found on the Bible Odyssey website (an educational resource written and edited by scholars of Biblical history and interpretation).