FALAITE SUNE 5, 2026
SIOPE 35-37; SAAME 63:1-8
Few things are more spiritually revitalizing than getting off the treadmill of life and taking time to meditate on the wondrous works of the Lord.
‘Oku kau ‘a e taimi ‘oku te mavahe ai mei he ngaahi me’a ‘oku nau puke hotau taimi, ‘o fakalaulauloto ‘i he ngaue fakaofo ‘a e ‘Otuaa, ‘i ha taimi langahake mo fakafo’ou ki hoto laumalie.
We are addicted to distraction. We seem to be unable to resist the next hit. Accustomed to endless information, entertainment, and controversy, we hate even a few moments of silence. We get anxious after we've been disconnected for a while. I remember when the cell phone was a new and seemingly unneeded novelty. I said that there was no way I would ever carry a phone around with me. But the device we carry with us now is not primarily a phone. When Steve Jobs gave us a portable touch screen, life began to change. Now we can access any form of entertainment or information - no matter how healthy or spiritually dark - wherever we go and whenever we want. We all feel the need to be connected, but our digital connectivity keeps us constantly distracted. Many of us spend hours a day on our devices, but less than twenty moments in personal devotion and prayer. We leave ourselves little time to stop, think, consider, and meditate.
Why does this matter? It matters because the central fact of human existence - that which gives understanding and purpose to everything we encounter - is the existence, character, purpose, and glory of God. The truth of the existence of God is the lens through which you and I need to look to properly understand everything in our lives. God's existence and glory give us identity, meaning, moral boundaries, and lasting peace. His will should guide every one of our thoughts, desires, choices, words, and actions. His glory can rescue us from living for our own glory. His holiness can expose our sin and cause us to seek and celebrate his grace. We need time every day to stop and gaze upon the glorious glory of the Lord. Consider these words from Job 37:
Hear this, O Job;
stop and consider the wondrous works of God.
Do you know how God lays his command upon them
and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
Do you know the balancings of the clouds,
the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge,
you whose garments are hot
when the earth is still because of the south wind?
Can you, like him, spread out the skies,
hard as a cast metal mirror?
The Almighty-we cannot find him;
he is great in power;
justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.
Therefore men fear him;
he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.
(Job 37:14-18, 23-24)
We need to heed these words. We need to silence our devices and stop to consider, gaze upon, and meditate on the wondrous works of God. When we do so, we find life, hope, and help. May the Lord's majesty supersede everything else in our lives, and may it give shape to how we live.
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