"How Long, O Lord?"

One of the appointed Psalms for the Daily Prayer of the Church is Psalm 13 where the Psalmist prays:

 

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?

   How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I bear pain in my soul,

   and have sorrow in my heart all day long?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!

   Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

and my enemy will say, ‘I have prevailed’;

   my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

But I trusted in your steadfast love;

   my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

   because he has dealt bountifully with me.

 

Whether you are in the war torn Middle East or you are weighed down with the problems of an ordinary person in America, this Psalm speaks to your heart.  Sometimes in the midst of our distress, we feel that we have been abandoned by God, that God has forgotten us.  The pain, the feeling of being abandoned, the sorrow and the loneliness can be overwhelming.  Yet the Psalmist trusts in the Lord because he knows that God keeps his promises, that God is ever faithful in his love for us.  In the end, God saves his people.  This is cause to rejoice even in the midst of suffering.  Let us pray by reading Psalm 13 again.

 

IT IS HURRICANE SEASON! ARE YOU PREPARED?  MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INSURANCE PREMIUMS ARE CURRENT.  THE CHURCH HAS PAID ITS INSURANCE PREMIUMS THROUGH SEPTEMBER.

 

CALENDAR REMINDERS

 

Children’s Summer Art Program, the “Art of Listening” starts on Monday, 21 July and ends on Friday, 25 July.  Each day we will start at 10 A.M. and end at 1 P.M. Lunch will be provided.

 

EFM Dinner on 27 July at 6 P.M. at the Taylors’ home.  Every baptized person is called to ministry. The Education for Ministry (“EFM”) program provides people with the education to carry out that ministry. During the Service of Confirmation we ask God to "Renew in these your servants the covenant you made with them at Baptism. Send them forth in the power of the Spirit to perform the service you set before them." EFM offers an opportunity to discover how to respond to the call to Christian service. Please come and learn about the benefits of EFM.   

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J.  Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550