August 28, Craziness

Today’s reading: Psalms 136-140

“How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?” - Psalm 137:4.

A few of the psalms were composed while the author was in exile in Babylon during the sixth century B.C. In today’s verse, the author was asking how he could be creative when the situation in his life and nation were so painfully chaotic. Yet, he was being creative as he wrote Psalm 137, even though the conditions were not ideal. Sometimes you can use the craziness in or around your life as a legitimate excuse not to produce or create; at other times, you can actually create the craziness as a cover for the fear that you will not be able to create. Rather than face failure, you will create a situation that prevents you from even starting. There was a man who told Jesus that he wanted to follow Him, but first had to go home and wait for his father to die (which could have taken decades). Here is Jesus’ response: “Another disciple said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father. ^‘But Jesus told him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead’” (Matthew 8:21-22). Jesus was saying to stop looking for excuses and follow through. Where are conditions preventing you from being productive or creative? Did you create that situation as an escape from responsibility? Can you still be creative even if you are in a tough spot if you stop making excuses?