Tell Your Story

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story. - Psalm 107:2

This week we’re leaning into Psalm 107 and the idea of paying attention to our own stories as a way of preparing for our time in the surprising book of Jonah this coming Sunday.

Psalm 107 runs through several stories of redemption - sometimes we get ourselves in trouble, sometimes our troubles are brought on by injustices done to us by others, and sometimes troubles just sort of show up for no known reason.

The first story in Psalm 107 tells of people wandering in a desert, looking for refuge and crying to God for help. There’s no blame in this section - it’s just a desert, and it’s no fun being there. Sometimes situations are just hard. Its’s not our rough situations are the consequences of our own terrible decisions or those of others - the situation is just plain rough, though. Instead of looking for someone to blame, we’re invited to name our need to God.

As you read, think about places in your life where things just aren’t going well and there’s no real clear reason why. Talk with God about this. And note, as you read these verses, that God answers by delivering them into community with others who can support them.

Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things. - Psalm 107:4-9