Today's Scripture Reading (July 31, 2025): Psalm 6
In college, I was a veteran of
all-night study sessions. It was more likely that I would spend my all-nighters
on writing a paper that was due the next morning than on an exam I was going to
take. And I wasn't the only one. It was about this time that McDonald's began
experimenting with the all-night drive-through. The McDonald's all-night
drive-through quickly became a popular spot for those of us trying to finish a
paper or studying for an exam. Just knowing that there was someplace, other
than 7-11, where we could go to revive ourselves gave us hope. And so, the
middle-of-the-night McDonald's run became a fairly regular thing during paper
and exam season,
However, there is a trade-off: the
longer you go without sleep, the less well your body functions. Things begin to
break down rather quickly. The first night passes, and maybe you aren't as
mentally ready for whatever might come, but your body is about to send you
signals that sleep is required. If you can make it seventy-two hours into a
sleepless session, and yes, I watched some late-night study sessions last that
long, you can begin to hallucinate and see things that are not there. In
college, this was about the time when we started putting people to bed. We didn't
care what paper was due; at this point, you were no longer able to write a paper
on any subject. You had to get some sleep before attempting any other
scholastic chores.
David's eyes are weak. However, it
is not an age-related issue. David's eyes are weak due to the intense sadness
he is enduring. He is likely not sleeping well. He is feeling like a failure.
He goes to bed, but his problems follow him. His pillow is wet with his tears. All
of this has had an impact on his life. He can no longer see the world as he
once did. Exhausted and sad, it seems like everything is going against him. It
isn't, of course, but it seems that it is.
It is a common condition that we all
experience at times. In these times of sorrow and exhaustion, we lose the
ability to see the world as it is, and all we see are the imperfections that
seem to be all around us.
Today marks the thirty-eighth
anniversary of the day an F4 tornado ripped through the city where I live,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Years after the tornado, I had a friend who would
panic every time a tornado watch was issued. He had spent time in the path of a
tornado, and the deep sadness and fear he experienced on that day continued to have
an impact on his life. On that Black Friday in 1987, a deep sadness had taken
up residence in his life, and it refused to let him go.
David is living in the path of the
tornado. Sorrow and fear are blinding him. He can't see past his own sense of
an impending disaster that is on its way. His enemies are all around him, and
the future is lost to his eyes. And yet, he trusts that God sees, and that God
is in control of things to which sorrow had blinded him.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Psalm 7
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