Psalm 27:1-5
Light, space, zest - that’s God! So, with him on my side I’m fearless, afraid of no one and nothing. When vandal hordes ride down ready to eat me alive, those bullies and toughs fall flat on their faces. When besieged, I’m calm as a baby. When all hell breaks loose, I’m collected and cool. I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing: to live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet. That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, the perfect getaway far from the buzz of traffic. Psalm 27:1-5 (MSG)
Oh, if only that would all be so true!.......that it would be true for me everyday…….that I should have such confidence and faith that no matter what is happening …….to me or to someone I love, or even to the world around me, I would be so centered in God that nothing, nothing could shake me.
But the truth is that in any of those moments I am shaking; and I need to remember that God is centered in me, focused on me, willing me to hold on fast – and dare I say, “working in all things for the good” for all? It is very right that when evil things are happening, I should quake (you should too), even while at the same time I/we know that God is at work somehow beyond my(our) full comprehension. What is needed most is discernment of the situation in order to put it in God’s hands where it belongs.
And how do you and I get that discernment? Do you think that it might be what it means to “live in God’s house with God”, “to contemplate his beauty’’?? Or how and where do we gain discernment?
Questions for Reflection:
- What would it mean for you to “live with God in God’s house”?
- How does “the buzz of traffic” prevent us from discerning what is true and right?
- “Light, space, zest” – how is this description of God true for you? (Other translations including the NRSV translate this verse as “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” Check it out. Does this say the same thing? Or something more?)
Prayer:
Great and Gracious God,
I am humbled to live in your world and in this great universe which is beyond my comprehension. Everyday I am faced with good and evil, both the choices and the consequences, yet I am limited in my understanding except through your grace and your Spirit within me. Lead me in the right ways; forgive me when I fall victim to the wrong or evil ways; enlarge my understanding of You and Your relationship to me, to others, to the world. And help me to trust in Your Spirit’s guidance and grace in all things. In Jesus’ name
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