Psalm 119:169-176.

When we were little and played “pretend” with our siblings or neighborhood friends we would pretend to be firefighters, teachers, or parents. Sometimes, I think we still play games of spiritual “pretend.” We pretend to be reliant on God and His provision. We pretend that God is the Sustainer and Provider of our lives, our homes, our finances, our church, but the reality is we “have it in hand.” Speaking from personal experience, I’ve lived this way. I’ve played spiritual pretend. Examining closely, perhaps you have as well?

The psalmist today leads us to a passage where we come home to ourselves (as Henri Nouwen says) and come clean with our fullest dependency and sense of God-reliance. We read, “May my cry come before you, LORD” (v. 169). This is not “let my finances, my logic, my worldview, my political party, or my 6G cell phone come before you.” It is, let my cry come before you, O Lord.

Let us not play pretend that we are Lord. He is Lord, and this day, we all will pour out our praises, our dependencies, our complete selves upon Him. God helps lost sheep, even though we pretend we have it all sorted out.

Author: Matt Zimmer