August 25th, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Broken Pottery!

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Opening Prayer

Lord, I ask for a fresh vision of who You are so that I might be renewed in Your gracious love.

Read Psalm 31:1-24

[1] For the director of music. A psalm of David. In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. [2] Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. [3] Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. [4] Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. [5] Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, LORD, my faithful God. [6] I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the LORD. [7] I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. [8] You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. [9] Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. [10] My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. [11] Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends- those who see me on the street flee from me. [12] I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. [13] For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life. [14] But I trust in you, LORD; I say, “You are my God.” [15] My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me. [16] Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. [17] Let me not be put to shame, LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and be silent in the realm of the dead. [18] Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous. [19] How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. [20] In the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues. [21] Praise be to the LORD, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. [22] In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. [23] Love the LORD, all his faithful people! The LORD preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. [24] Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

Think of a time when God took your brokenness and brought to you a degree of wholeness. What a great gift!

Think Further

Archaeologists love broken pottery; it helps them determine the dating of a particular stratum, the extent of commerce, the level of technology and craftsmanship and, sometimes, if it has been used to inscribe messages, even more specific insights. For most of us, broken pottery represents an accident–and it’s usually a favorite mug we drop! For a few, it recalls memories of violence by a spouse or parent! For the psalmist, broken pottery is garbage. It’s no good for anything much, rejected and finished. That is how the psalmist felt, oppressed by his enemies and an embarrassment to friends and neighbors: “I have become like broken pottery” (12).

Yet this psalm tells a larger story. The psalmist trusted God as his rock and fortress. He had suffered much and expected to die, but he refused to turn to idols (with their spells and curses to destroy his enemies) and threw himself on God’s trustworthiness. Thus the larger story is not of desperation but of deliverance. The psalm throbs with delight and satisfaction in God who has shown David wonderful love and answered his cry for help. Indeed, the larger story is a testimony appealing to God’s people to trust him even when it looks as though he cannot see them anymore because he appears not to take note of their plight and doesn’t rescue them (22).

Jesus has added his endorsement to this psalm. He quotes v. 5 as he dies (Luke 23:46). This is the psalm we will need when we face persecution and rejection. Its words help us to pray as Jesus did when we are suffering and emotionally vulnerable. We may need these words of testimony when our faith slips through our fingers because of confusion and loneliness. Like the archaeologist, God loves and mends broken pots!

Apply

Learn, as Jesus did, some of this psalm by heart (e.g., vs. 1,2,11,12,21,23,24) as a resource for dark and painful times.

Closing prayer

Father God, there have been times in my life when brokenness was all I had to offer You. I thank You for Your restorative work in me.

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