Psalm 42; Isaiah 29:17-24; Acts 5:12-16 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 42; Isaiah 29:17-24; Acts 5:12-16 on biblegateway.com
Devotion
“ … Out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord…” (Isaiah 29:18b-19a). When my husband was going through repeated chemo sessions, friends reminded us that the illness need not define our lives. “You are more than this illness,” they said, and suggested looking for grace notes, “fresh joy,” each day in the midst of gloom and darkness. At the end of each day, we cherished sharing our grace notes together. “Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles” (Acts 5:12) and in our case, through nurses, doctors, friends and family. We found windows through which God’s loving hand awakened us to God’s presence. Advent is the season of hope — when we prepare to “greet the new morn.”
Prayer
With the psalmist we pray: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, my soul longs for you, Oh God.” Let your steadfast love command my day and, at night, let your song sing with me a prayer to the God of my life. Amen.