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The Journey of Freedom
As the RESILIENCE conference approaches, I find myself thinking about resilience and compassion, solidarity and freedom. Read More
Deborah Van Deusen Hunsinger | Read Psalm 16:7-11
The psalmist maintains a steady communion with God, receiving
counsel and allowing his heart to instruct him. How does
a heart attuned to God’s counsel manifest in our lives and that of
the psalmist? It seems to provide stability, a steadiness that promotes
an unshakable foundation. The psalmist experiences gladness,...
Loving God, we thank you for the blessings of security that come in the wake of knowing that we belong to you. When we understand our lives in the light of your steadfast love and faithfulness we experience the steady joy of knowing that our lives matter. Amen.
Psalm 16 and Acts 2 fit together, since the latter quotes the former. Both celebrate God’s presence in human life and the powerful expression of that presence. In his Pentecost sermon Peter sees a messianic application of the psalm to the resurrection of Jesus. First Peter affirms that resurrection creates community, stressing the faith and love of Christians that arise without the experience of physical contact with Jesus. For later generations, belief and commitment are born out of the witness of others.
• Read Acts 2:14a, 22-32. When has a life experience made you, like Peter, feel that your faith was a sham? How did you move past that experience into renewed hope?
• Read Psalm 16. When have you perceived God as refuge? How has your faith in God steadied your life? What is your “goodly heritage”?
• Read 1 Peter 1:3-9. What act of power and grace on God’s part allows you to reconfigure or reinterpret your life story?
• Read John 20:19-31. When have you employed the power to release others from their sin? to leave them in their sin?
Respond by posting a prayer.
The RESILIENCE conference in 2021 was so uplifting and nourishing. It was wonderful to be with other Christians around the world at this retreat, who truly care about responding to trauma in a compassionate way by teaching spiritual practices to help with grounding and healing.”
Join us for the next RESILIENCE conference on September 29-30, 2023. Learn more at UpperRoom.org/resilience.
