Getting up time

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Psalm 143.8

There is a progression here: David "trusts" God by confessing his sin and abandoning himself to God's mercy and now he waits expectantly for God to give further expression to his unconditional love and resume his place as the dominant influence in David's life. But this is not all for, if it were, it would suggest David had taken the initiative, when that credit belongs to God. "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us..." as Paul reminds us in a later context (Romans 5.8). From the very beginning, as depicted in the Fall of Adam & Eve, God has been wooing sinners in order to heal and restore us.

But an invitation has to be accepted for what it offers to come into the possession of the receiver. Saint Augustine appeared to scotch the notion of human responsibility with his teachings on total depravity and predestination. Such as the Celtic theologian, Pelagius - who sought to restore the balance between the grace of God and the freewill of human beings in response - were branded as "heretics" for their efforts. Yet we are by no means helpless victims of destiny - whether you call it fate or predestination - for God in Christ summons everyone to repentance and faith, in order to receive his free gift of eternal life.

Whatever your predicament today, this word is for you. Invest your trust in God and expect this fresh start to yield the harvest of God's direct and personal influence in your life. Like the dawn, it may seem a long time in coming but, as surely as the sun eventually rises, so will the Lord arrive indeed...