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During a recent fall retreat with our international students, this year's Beeson chapel service theme of beauty came alive for me in an unexpected way—though with a sobering twist. While out on a hiking trip surrounded by the majesty of creation, I was reminded that alongside radiant beauty often lies the stark proximity of ugliness. In this case, the ugliness of sin.

Psalm 46:10 is surrounded by verses that describe nations raging, kingdoms tottering, mountains trembling, and the waters roaring and foaming. It's an intense scene, enough to cause even the bravest alarm and dismay. But then, right in the midst of it all (v10), God enters and addresses the nations. Today's Verse Vital reflects on Psalm 46:10.

Sleep is the ultimate leveller; it's what all flesh needs and cannot avoid. But while most people take this cycle for granted, the writer of this Psalm does not. Written during a turbulent time of David's life, the formulaic conclusion ends with, "...for the LORD sustained me." Today's Verse Vital reflects on Psalm 3:5 and God's sustaining power in sleep.

The eighth psalm reminds me of a delicious sandwich. But it's a very different kind of food—one not prepared in the kitchen by human hands, but instead inspired by the Spirit of the living God as spiritual food to satisfy the deepest longings of the human soul. Today's Verse Vital reflects on Psalm 8:9—the majestic name of the Lord in all the earth.

While raising polite kids is important, the real task of parenting is to help them fix their eyes on Jesus — the fountain and source of all things good, the chief end of our gratitude. But the attitude of gratitude does not come naturally to humans. In a world full of selfishness, it is an attitude that desperately needs to be modelled, learnt, and practised. Today's reflection on Psalm 107:1 directs us back to the One who gives us every good reason to be a thankful people.

When I think I am teaching my children (often from a place of weakness), God is actually teaching me, helping me. I am sure I have learned so much more from being a parent than my children have learned from me. Today's guest writer tells us about the worth of our weakness.

In the summer of 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte launched an invasion of Russia with a huge army numbering 600,000 soldiers. Fresh from military successes across Europe, Bonaparte proudly marched forward—his fearsome reputation going before him. Napoleon's unchecked hubris was soon to be shattered. But what was his undoing?

The Bible is filled with stories of people who hit rock bottom. It never presents a rose-tinted picture of human struggles. Instead, it paints a truthful and vivid picture of mankind's deepest flaws and struggles. In fact, the Bible's greatest heroes are shown as ordinary people often carrying deep emotional pain and plenty of flaws—often caused by their own folly and sinful actions; at other times completely outside of their control.