Seeing with God’s Heart 用神的心来看待受苦的人

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Dexu Xia

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Aug 21, 2025, 7:55:36 PM8/21/25

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The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. Psalm 146:8

Today's Scripture Psalm 146

Today's Insights The book of Psalms is Israel’s hymn book. The final five praise songs (Psalms 146-150) are known as the “Hallelujah Psalms” because each one begins and ends with the very definition of hallelujah—“praise the Lord!” The psalmist calls us to celebrate the greatness of our faithful God, the powerful Creator (146:6), the loving Deliverer (vv. 7-9), and the everlasting King (v. 10). He also calls us to celebrate His grace, thanking Him for His many acts of deliverance, provisions, and sustenance (vv. 7-9). The object of our faith is crucial. It’s futile to “trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save” (v. 3). We’re to trust God only and to look to Him for help. For “blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God” (v. 5). We can reflect the heart of God by being a refuge for the oppressed and caring for the “fatherless and the widow” (v. 9)

Today's Devotional On Chantale’s thirteenth birthday, after hours of joyful celebration in her quiet home village, gunfire shattered the peaceful evening. Chantale and her siblings ran into the forest, obeying their mother’s frantic command to hide. All night, they huddled underneath the sanctuary of a tree. “The sun appeared in the morning. But not our parents,” Chantale recounts. She and her siblings were now orphans and refugees, joining tens of thousands in a refugee camp.

When we hear stories like Chantale’s, it can be tempting to turn away from such overwhelming loss. But those who believe in the God of Scripture believe in a God who never looks away from suffering, who attentively “watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow” (Psalm 146:9).

The “Maker of heaven and earth . . . remains faithful forever” (v. 6), ever at work upholding “the cause of the oppressed” and providing “food to the hungry” (v. 7).

Chantale Zuzi Leader, who founded an organization to educate refugee girls, says her experience taught her that “anyone can become a refugee—to lose that place of safety they once had.”

May our response to those who’ve lost a place of safety reflect the heart of the God, who is an ever-faithful “refuge for the oppressed” (9:9), who “lifts up those who are bowed down” (146:8).

Reflect & Pray

How have you or someone you know lost a place of safety? How can God work through such experiences?

Faithful God, thank You for being a refuge for all who hurt. Please help me reflect Your heart.

Monica LaRose

“耶和华扶起那些被压下的人。”（诗篇 146:8 ）

今日经文：诗篇 146 篇

今日心得：诗篇是以色列的赞美诗集。最后五首赞美诗（诗篇 146-150）被称为“哈利路亚诗篇”，因为每首诗都以“哈利路亚”的定义开头和结尾——“赞美耶和华！”。诗篇作者呼吁我们颂赞我们信实的神的伟大，他是全能的造物主（146:6），慈爱的拯救者（7-9节），以及永远的君王（10节）。他也呼吁我们颂赞他的恩典，感谢他多次的拯救、供应和扶持（7-9节）。我们信仰的对象至关重要。

“不要倚靠君王，不要倚靠世人，他们一点不能帮助”（3节）。我们当单单倚靠上帝，仰望祂的帮助。因为“凡以雅各的上帝为帮助，仰望耶和华他们上帝的，便为有福”（5节）。我们能藉着成为受压迫者的避难所，并照顾“孤儿寡妇”（9节），来彰显上帝的心意。

今日灵修：在尚塔莱十三岁生日那天，她在宁静的家乡欢度了几个小时后，一阵枪声打破了安宁的夜晚。尚塔莱和她的兄弟姐妹们按照母亲慌乱的命令躲进了森林。他们整夜蜷缩在一棵树下。“早晨，太阳出来了，但我们的父母却没有出来”，尚塔莱回忆道。她和兄弟姐妹们现在成了孤儿和难民，他们成为难民营里成千上万的难民中的一员。

当我们听到像尚塔莱这样的故事时，我们很容易对这种巨大的损失视而不见。但那些相信圣经之神的人，相信神从不忽视苦难，祂细心地“看顾寄居的，扶持孤儿寡妇”（诗篇146:9）。“造天地的主永远信实”（诗篇146:6），祂始终维护“受压迫者的权益”，“赐食物给饥饿的人”（诗篇146:7）。

尚塔莱∙卒兹现在是创立一个教育难民女孩的组织的领袖，她说她的经历让她明白“任何人都可能成为难民，失去曾经拥有的安全之地”。愿我们对那些失去安全之地的人的回应能够反映出神的心意，祂是永远信实的“受压迫者的避难所”（诗篇9:9），祂“扶起被压下的人”（诗篇146:8）。
反思与祷告你或你认识的人是如何失去安全感的？上帝会如何通过这样的经历来工作？

信实的上帝，感谢你为所有受伤害的人提供庇护。请帮助我反照出您的心。