Not on Myself Alone--April 16, 2018

[From April 11, 2016 archive]

God, I confess that I like to be in charge—

I think I know how some things should be done,

and if I want them done that way, it’s best I do them.

But you oppose the proud; your grace goes to the humble;

teach me to clothe myself with humility as I deal with others.

Show me that there are others who make the path straight,

in truth, far straighter than I make it; help me see how

I wear myself out and also all who are around me

when I tackle what is too heavy to do alone.

With no help from me,

you made heaven and earth.

Surely I must rely on you, and with

you as you work through others,

not on myself alone.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 97; 145; 124; 115

Exod. 18:13-27

1 Peter 5:1-14

Matt. 1:1-17, 3:1-6

Selected Verses

Ps. 124:8

Our help is in the name of the LORD,
          who made heaven and earth.

Exod. 18:18

You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 

1 Peter 5:4b

And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Matt. 3:3

[John the Baptist] is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”