Jan 8th
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
A psalm of Solomon.
1 Give your love of justice to the king, O God,
and righteousness to the king’s son.
2 Help him judge your people in the right way;
let the poor always be treated fairly.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for all,
and may the hills be fruitful.
4 Help him to defend the poor,
to rescue the children of the needy,
and to crush their oppressors.
5 May they fear you[a] as long as the sun shines,
as long as the moon remains in the sky.
Yes, forever!
6 May the king’s rule be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass,
like the showers that water the earth.
7 May all the godly flourish during his reign.
May there be abundant prosperity until the moon is no more.
I just found today that one of my good friends was diagnosed with Leukemia. He is set to start chemotherapy soon and has a bone marrow transplant on his spine next Friday. He asked me to share it with you all so that we can be praying for him.
You probably have met him if you have helped me with the mobile home park on Colonial road. His name is Jonathan. He preached at Wesley before. He’s also on my real estate advisory board because he is a general contractor.
Pray for him.
I immediately thought of him as I read today’s scripture. King Solomon seems to be the writer of today’s Psalm. He is praying to God in this Psalm. Most Psalms are prayers. Also, remember King Solomon? Known as the Wisest man to ever live? Well we have a peek into his journaled prayers.
Solomon is asking God to help him rule with wisdom for a long time. Solomon has a desire to defend the afflicted, save children, and crush the oppressor. He also wishes for prosperity for the people and for an abundance of righteousness. Then he ends his prayer with a request for a long life. Then I thought, “People like Solomon should live a long life. We need people who care about the poor, who help children and who devote their life to other people’s prosperity. We need people whose deepest desire is to lead well.”
That’s why I immediately thought of Jonathan. He’s this kind of person. He has spearheaded “Justice for our Neighbors,” an organization that helps undocumented immigrants with legal help. He has devoted his life to ministry in low-income settings. He actually has a blog that you can read about the work that he is doing.
He’s inspiring. He deserves to live a long life.That’s my prayer and devotional today.
I pray that we would be people who desire the same desires of King Solomon. And that we would all live a long healthy life to help the afflicted, children in need, and crush (non-violently) the oppressors.
Blessings to you all.