Thursday 3rd September

Psalm 34:4
 
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”

I find it hard to identify what the attraction of Postman Pat is to a four year old. I have watched it with my children 35 years ago, and recently with my grandchildren and its adult conversation about work and community life.  Apart from the fact that Pat hasn’t aged one day in 35 years I love it!

In this psalm the second personal statement about God which David makes comes in verse 4, “I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” I’ve read it many times in various pastoral settings but when I read it yesterday my mind went back 30 years to my first summer assistantship and using the story of Postman Pat’s Foggy day as the basis of a kids talk in church.

The story quickly...  when Pat goes out to deliver letters on a foggy morning he stops at the church but when he returns to the van Jess, his cat, has disappeared. Pat goes off to look for Jess but in finding the cat discovers that he is himself lost. It is only when the Rev Timms finding that Pat is missing and rings the church bell that Pat finds his way back to the church and safety. 
I remember discussing the kids talk later that week with the supervising minister. The point I had drawn out that we are lost and need to be rescued, that happens when we come to Jesus, to which my colleague added, we are sinners seeking a Saviour, he though is the Saviour seeking sinners and so it proves in scripture.

From David’s perspective he is seeking the Lord because he is aware of his predicament and when he called, God answered with deliverance. The other side of that coin though is the truth that we can only know God when he reveals himself to us. He is though active drawing us and Jesus announced, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke19:10. In reality we don’t find Jesus as if he was lost, he finds us for we are lost until we hear, encounter him and respond in faith.

Rescued by God and held safely David urges others to...”Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him (Ps34:8). You know the old proverb, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating”. However good a pudding looks the only way to prove it is to taste it. The thought here is similar. We can only prove the goodness and faithfulness of God to ourselves when we act in faith, when we trust him for ourselves.