Fi’s sister gave us a voucher for a furniture store last year. Quite a tidy furniture store.
Thing is, we managed to sit on that voucher for twelve months without doing anything with it. Not because it wasn’t worthwhile to redeem it…we just didn’t. Having done the house-shifting thing during that time I think we did reasonably well not to lose it altogether! Finally, a year and two days after it was purchased for us, we went to the store and bought some great stuff with it. It was a piece of card until then…now it’s two hand towels, a necklace, some hand cream and a Christmas decoration that Molly picked out!
Psalm 31 got me thinking about my voucher. Within two verses David moves from a request to an acknowledgement of something he’s already got.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
Here’s what it got me thinking: How often do I walk around with a voucher for something without redeeming it? It’s been given to me freely and faithfully but I lose track of it. Time passes and I do nothing about the gift that’s been given to me. More time passes and my memory can fade of the promises of God toward me (and all of us). Promises to love us, protect us, rescue us, forgive us, strengthen us, heal us, provide for us, grow us, free us, guide us…promises upon promises. And yet, sometimes I walk around with these promises in my back pocket and the problem or circumstance at top of mind.
There comes a time to move from awareness to practice. To redeem the voucher. To pray the prayer that reminds you of God’s provision. To turn His willing, steadfast love into power and strength in our inner being. And to realise all along, the hand has been open. To take Him at His word and redeem the voucher!
It might be taking David a tad out of context here, but it seems like he’s warning us about forgetting what we’ve already been given. In the very next verse he writes: ‘Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge’. I’m sure his trap is different to ours, but I’m equally sure that forgetting the completed work of Jesus for us and the ongoing revelation of the reverberations of that provision is a trap for us. Amnesia is temporary athiesm. Forgetting God. Forgetting what he’s done. He is our refuge…and he can also keep us free from the trap of amnesia and set our feet in a spacious place.
Grace to you.
– Simon Elliott