Daily Office Reflections
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Readings: Psalm 119:145–176; Psalms 128–130; Judges 18:16–31; Acts 8:14–25; John 6:1–15
Paul Harvey made famous the phrase:
“And now you know…the rest of the story.”
Today’s Daily Office readings give us something like that.
Yesterday we met people making choices.
Today we discover where some of those choices led.
That is important because choices have consequences, and we don’t always see those consequences immediately.
Sometimes we have to keep walking before we understand where the road is taking us.
The Tribe of Dan Found a Home—But Also an Idol
Yesterday, the tribe of Dan was searching for a place to live.
They sent spies to explore the land. Eventually 600 armed men set out, taking Micah’s carved image and other religious objects with them.
They found their land.
But today’s reading gives us the rest of the story.
They kept the carved image and established it among themselves as an object of worship.
They had been searching for a home.
They found one.
But somewhere along the journey, they also embraced a substitute for God.
That makes me wonder how often we do something similar.
We begin looking for something legitimate—security, belonging, happiness, success, companionship, purpose.
Then somewhere along the road, the thing we were seeking becomes more important than the God who travels with us.
We find what we wanted.
But did we find what we needed?
Simon Wanted Something Too
Yesterday, Philip went to Samaria and proclaimed the Gospel.
People believed and were baptized.
Simon believed and was baptized too.
Today Peter and John arrive and pray for the new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.
Simon sees what happens.
And he wants that power.
So he offers money for it.
Peter immediately rebukes him.
The gift of God cannot be purchased.
Simon has encountered grace, but he still has something to learn about grace.
Grace is a gift, not a commodity.
It cannot be bought.
It cannot be controlled.
It cannot be possessed so that we can impress other people.
Simon asks Peter and John to pray for him.
Once again, the journey presents a choice.
The Crowd Wanted a King
Then we come to Jesus.
A huge crowd has followed him.
The people are hungry.
Jesus takes five barley loaves and two fish and feeds about five thousand people.
There is more than enough.
The people see what Jesus has done and recognize that something extraordinary is happening.
But then they decide what they want Jesus to become.
A king.
Jesus realizes that they intend to take him by force and make him king.
So he withdraws.
They have seen the sign.
But they haven’t completely understood what the sign means.
They want Jesus.
But they want Jesus on their terms.
They want a king who fits their expectations.
That sounds strangely familiar.
Lost Sheep Who Don’t Know They’re Lost
Then I hear the Psalmist.
Near the end of Psalm 119 comes this confession:
“I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost.”
There is humility in those words.
The Psalmist knows he has wandered.
And perhaps that is what separates him from some of the people in today’s other readings.
The tribe of Dan has wandered toward an idol.
Simon has wandered toward power.
The crowd has wandered toward its own idea of what Jesus ought to be.
But do they recognize that they are wandering?
The Psalmist does.
I am lost. Come find me.
That may be one of the most important prayers a pilgrim can ever pray.
Yesterday’s Ascent Continues
Yesterday I pictured the journey of faith as an ascent.
The pilgrims climb toward Jerusalem.
Step by step.
Learning.
Listening.
Choosing.
Growing.
Today’s readings remind me that not every road we choose leads farther up the hill.
Sometimes we wander.
Sometimes we mistake an idol for God.
Sometimes we mistake power for the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes we try to make Jesus into the kind of Savior we want instead of allowing Jesus to show us who he is.
The danger isn’t simply becoming lost.
The greater danger may be becoming lost without realizing it.
The Psalmist gives us another way.
Recognize it.
Admit it.
Call out.
Trust the Shepherd.
What Are We Really Looking For?
The Danites wanted a home.
Simon wanted power.
The crowd wanted a king.
None of those desires necessarily began as something evil.
The problem came in what they did with those desires.
And that makes me examine my own.
What am I looking for?
Security?
Recognition?
Belonging?
Success?
Control?
Someone to solve my problems?
Something to believe in?
And have I ever taken something good and turned it into something that substitutes for God?
The Psalmist points me back toward the treasure that matters.
God is faithful.
God is merciful.
God hears.
God redeems.
God comes looking for wandering sheep.
A Question for the Journey
So perhaps today’s question is:
What am I looking for—and am I looking for it in the right place?
Because today’s readings give me three important reminders:
God’s grace is not for sale.
God cannot be replaced by the substitutes I create.
And Jesus will not be reduced to the kind of king I want him to be.
I am still climbing.
I am still learning.
And sometimes continuing the ascent means recognizing that I have wandered from the path.
When that happens, perhaps the most faithful prayer I can offer is the prayer of the Psalmist:
I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant.
The Shepherd is faithful.
The grace is still free.
And the journey continues.
The Curious Pilgrim — Reflections on faith, family, and mysterious grace.
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