Reflections on Ps 62 (Br Aloysius Tan)

During my last holiday, I visited Sabah and went white water rafting. Initially, I found it a very scary experience. When I first reached the venue and saw the churning white surface of the rough river, the notion of the 1 hour journey with the full knowledge that I can’t swim was frightening.


Anyhow, after the briefing, I realized that there are things that I could depend on: the safety helmet to protect my head; the life jacket to help me to float should I be tossed into the water;the sitting arrangement that will balance out the raft and the experienced trainer who would accompany us on our rafting experience.


The rafting experience turned out to be a fun-filled excursion, though if it was physically challenging. We were thrown out from the raft at different phases of the journey but we were kept safe by the protective gear we had on and the supportive companionship of the group members in the raft.


Likewise, our faith journey and our response to God’s invitation for various ministries or vocations may be likened to a white water rafting experience: sometimes, it is full of fun and smooth going. But at other times the water is so rough and the currents so strong that we can be drowned. We too have our protector, not external safety equipment but a God who sees us through our life’s challenges. It is as what the psalmist of Psalm 62 echoes: “In God alone is my soul at rest; my help comes from him. He alone is my rock, my stronghold, my fortress: I stand firm.”


Let us draw strength from the word of the psalmist in trusting that God will be our stronghold in whatever situation we are in. All we need to do is to trust in Him, depend on Him and allow Him to be our refuge in all our undertakings. Enjoy the journey!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stay tuned for the next post by Br David Arulanatham on 5th Mar 2010.