Bible Readings and Devotion for October 4, 2020
Here are the references for the readings. Please look these up in your print Bible, your smartphone app Bible, or your online Bible:
Devotion for October 4, 2020
By Pastor David Tinker
“I am at the end of my rope.” People say this to describe being at a low or the lowest point their life. They use this to describe being in a situation where everything seems to be lost, painful, or even forgotten in their life. When at the end of one’s rope, there seems to be nothing left to grab for safety and security.
Psalm 88 and Ezra 1 deal with this issue.
Psalm 88 is about feeling that even God has abandoned the person praying the psalm. The psalmist seems to understand that God will hear one’s prayers, but life is still hard. The psalm ends with a bit of sad statement about being away from one’s core support system.
Ezra 1 shows a situation after the Jews had gotten to the end of their rope. The scene is where they are given permission by King Cyrus of Persia to return to Jerusalem. Previously they had lost everything and were led into exile and slavery by the Babylonians due to the continuous and grievous sin of the whole people. They lost their land, their temple, their kings, and their will to live. They were very much at the end of their rope.
Now, a generation later, they are being restored to their homeland. It would not be exactly the same as before, but it would eventually bring about something much more significant. This restoration pointed to the great and central restoration in God’s Word. It points to and leads to the arrival of Jesus Christ our Lord. His action of his suffering, death, and resurrection from the dead for the forgiveness of our sins is God’s core work of restoring us, especially when we feel we are at the end of our rope.
Prayer
Lord Christ, you came into the world as one of us, and suffered as we do. As we go through the trials of life, help us to realize that you are with us at all times and in all things; that we have no secrets from you; and that your loving grace enfolds us for eternity. In the security of your embrace we pray. Amen
Prayer from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Copyright © 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
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