Daily Office Reflections
Monday, August 17, 2026
Readings: Psalm 106:1–48; Judges 17:1–13; Acts 7:44–8:1; John 5:19–29
Yesterday we began the week with a reminder from the Psalmist that God’s faithful love endures forever.
Today, Psalm 106 reminds us why that is such good news.
God remains faithful even when we are not.
Psalm 106 tells the story of a people who repeatedly forgot what God had done for them. They complained. They rebelled. They worshiped idols. They made promises and failed to keep them.
Yet God remembered.
God remembered the covenant.
God remembered the promises.
God remembered the people.
That is the remarkable difference between God’s faithfulness and ours. We forget. God remembers. We wander. God continues calling us home.
But today’s readings also raise a more uncomfortable question:
What happens when I become convinced that what I am doing is right when it really isn’t?
Doing What Is Right in Our Own Eyes
Judges tells us about a man named Micah who stole silver from his mother.
When he admits what he has done, his mother dedicates some of the returned silver to the Lord and then has it made into a carved and cast image.
It gets stranger.
Micah establishes his own shrine. He makes an ephod and household gods. He appoints one of his sons as a priest and later hires a Levite to serve as his personal priest.
Micah has constructed a religion that works for Micah.
The writer of Judges explains the problem:
“In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.”
There is a warning there for me.
It is possible to convince myself that something is right simply because it makes sense to me.
I can even attach God’s name to it.
I can create a religious explanation for it.
I can surround it with religious language.
And I can still be wrong.
That is why continuing to learn is so important on this pilgrimage.
Sometimes God has to challenge what I think I already know.
Stephen Confronts the Religious Leaders
Then we encounter Stephen.
Stephen stands accused before the religious leaders and gives a long defense. He recounts the history of Israel and reminds his listeners how often God’s people resisted those whom God sent to them.
Stephen is not speaking to people who think they are opposing God.
Quite the opposite.
They believe they are defending God.
That may be one of the most disturbing lessons in today’s readings.
We can be absolutely convinced that we are defending God while resisting what God is doing.
The leaders become furious with Stephen.
Stephen sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
The leaders drag him outside the city and stone him.
Yet something extraordinary happens as Stephen dies.
Instead of asking God to destroy his enemies, Stephen asks God not to hold their sin against them.
Even while being killed, Stephen demonstrates the mercy he has experienced from God.
Who Has the Final Word?
Then Jesus speaks in John’s Gospel about life, resurrection, and judgment.
Jesus makes an extraordinary claim.
The Father has entrusted judgment to the Son.
The dead will hear his voice and rise.
Some will experience the resurrection of life and others the resurrection of judgment.
That reminds me of something important:
I am not the final judge.
Neither is Micah.
Neither were the religious leaders who condemned Stephen.
Neither am I.
Jesus is.
That should produce some humility in me.
Before I become too certain that I know who is right and who is wrong, perhaps I need to examine myself.
Before I condemn someone else, perhaps I need to ask whether I am seeing the whole picture.
Before I say, “God is certainly on my side,” perhaps I should ask whether I am actually standing on God’s side.
God Remembers
And that brings me back to Psalm 106.
Human beings forget.
God remembers.
Human beings break promises.
God remains faithful.
Human beings wander.
God continues extending mercy.
Human beings sometimes convince ourselves that our way must be God’s way.
And God continues calling us to examine ourselves, repent, learn, and grow.
Yesterday I asked:
What do I need to examine in myself so that I can respond to God’s grace and walk more faithfully?
Today’s readings take me one step further.
A Question for the Journey
Am I willing to let God show me when what seems right in my own eyes is leading me in the wrong direction?
That can be a difficult question.
It means admitting that I haven’t learned everything.
It means listening.
It means questioning some of my assumptions.
It means being willing to change.
But perhaps that is part of being a pilgrim.
I am still learning.
I am still traveling.
And sometimes continuing the journey means allowing God to show me that the road I thought was right isn’t the road I need to be traveling.
Fortunately, I travel with a God whose steadfast love endures forever.
Even when I forget, God remembers.
Even when I wander, grace keeps calling.
And the journey continues.
The Curious Pilgrim — Reflections on faith, family, and mysterious grace.
The Curious Pilgrim 
Leave a comment