FRIDAY, February 12

Psalm 91. You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; of the plague that stalks in the darkness, nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day.

Christian preachers down through the ages have frequently treated "the sickness that lays waste at mid-day" as the characteristic sickness of middle age, which strikes us in the noonday of life. This sickness is a compound of several things: boredom, disillusionment, weariness, the failure of the dreams of our youth to come true. Most middle-aged folk know this sickness well. God knows it too, and bids us in our misery to return to him.

As I look back over my ministry of a quarter- century, I recall very many victims of the noonday sickness whom I have presented for confirmation. The Holy Spirit had moved them to come to God in his church to find renewal of life.

Does the noonday sickness grip you? Remember now your Creator in the days of your middle age: offer your tired life to him, renew your allegiance to Jesus Christ. He can do many wonderful things with you and for you, which he could not do for you in your callow youth. (1963)

PRAY for the Diocese of Badagary (Province of Lagos, Nigeria)

Ps 88 * 92; Genesis 27:46-28:4, 10-22; Romans 13:1-14; John 8:33-47

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

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