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Devotional

Crisis

The psalmist cries out to the Lord. And God hears his cry, inclining His ear toward a desperate appeal. For mercy.

In the telling of his story, the psalmist goes back and forth. 

Between relief and alarm. Death and rescue. 

The way we often do. 

In the context of crisis. 

Cry out to the Lord. Image by Priscilla du Preez, Unsplash.
Categories
Crossing Cultures Devotional Memoir

Missing beauty

“Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance” (Psalm 16:5-6).

Beauty? Our first year of living in Karachi, my eyes saw the sand and dirt. Trash along the roads. The walls and buildings that matched the browns of a desert landscape.  

two boys standing on a street with trash littered all around
Street scene. imb photos

Nothing seemed pleasant. Or beautiful. 

I decided “pleasant places” must refer to the believer’s spiritual condition. Certainly not physical surroundings. Not this desert megacity, anyway.