August 2

The Powerful and the Weak
Bible in a Year:
Psalms 60–62
Romans 5
Woe to you . . . . You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick.

Today's Scripture & Insight:

Ezekiel 34:1–2, 7–12
Perhaps the most heartwarming tradition in college football happens at the University of Iowa. The Stead Family Children’s Hospital sits next to Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium, and the hospital’s top floor has floor-to-ceiling windows offering a great view of the field. On game days, sick children and their families fill the floor to watch the action below, and at the end of the first quarter, coaches, athletes, and thousands of fans turn to the hospital and wave. For those few moments, the children’s eyes light up. It’s powerful to see the athletes, with a packed stadium and thousands more watching on TV, pause and show they care.

The Scriptures instruct those who have power (and all of us have some kind of power) to care for those who are weak, watch over those who are struggling, and tend to those whose bodies are broken. Too often, though, we ignore those in need of attention (Ezekiel 34:6). The prophet Ezekiel rebuked Israel’s leaders for their selfishness, for disregarding those who most needed help. “Woe to you,” God said through Ezekiel. “You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured” (vv. 2, 4).

How often do our personal priorities, leadership philosophies, or economic policies demonstrate little regard for those in distress? God shows us a different way, where those with power watch out for those who are weak (vv. 11–12).

By: Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray
How have you seen those with power watch out for the weak? How have they ignored the weak?

Heavenly Father, teach me to love as You love. Amen.