Sabbath Psalms - The World We Live In

Psalm 124:8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

            Some days I worry about climate change and what kind of impact it will have on my grandchildren. Each year, our little planet is getting warmer, glaciers are retreating, and sea levels are rising. The weather is erratic, and I’ve never seen so many floods and torrential downpours in my thirty years of living in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. Some people say it’s just cyclical and eventually the climate will right itself. I don’t know about that; it seems like wishful thinking instead of finding a solution which will help my grandchildren. 

            Today’s highlighted verse reminds me that God is the Maker of this beautiful planet, so perhaps I should address God, asking for guidance and answers. If human beings are messing up what God created, then why doesn’t God intervene and set things right? As an artist, I take great pride in what I draw or paint, so I would hate it if someone vandalized or broke the work of my hands. This makes me wonder if God steps back from Creation to allow human beings to see how destructive we can be, in the hope that we would recognize our mistakes and start to apply our knowledge, wisdom, and skills to repair what we have broken and to cherish what God has made.

            The psalmist wrote that our help is in the name of the Lord which tells me that we need to cry to God in order to rely on God to remedy the climate crisis we are in. I think this is why more churches are focusing on environmental health as well as spiritual growth; it’s almost as if the Maker of heaven is encouraging us to be caretakers of the world we live in. I hope so, for the sake of my grandchildren and their grandchildren.

Point to ponder: What do I do in my life to care for the environment?

Prayer: Lord God, You created this unique planetary jewel that spins around the Sun as it moves through space. There’s nowhere else like it in our Solar System, so please help us recognize how fragile this world is by giving us the courage to repair the damage we have selfishly and sinfully caused. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a retired Scottish pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.