Reflections
"You who seek God, may your hearts revive!"
Like
Jeremiah, our psalmist cries out to the Lord
and
seeks relief from suffering. The psalmist bears
insult
for the sake of God as a consequence of his
zeal
for the Lord.
Yet the verses are a plea to God and
a remedy
for the distress into which the psalmist has sunk.
Crying
out to God with trust in God’s great love
is
the only answer for those lowly ones who are
cast
down and persecuted. Seek the Lord and
your
hearts will revive! The Lord hears the cry
of the
poor.
The
Gospel echoes the confidence of the psalm's
verses. Jesus
affirms that we are to proclaim the
Gospel from the
housetops and fear not our
enemies who are powerless
to kill the soul.
(Matthew 10:27-28)
As the psalm says, even if
we are in bonds the
Lord will not spurn us. For the
Lord in his great
love will answer us. The
psalmist stands on firm
ground though he was cast out by
family and friends.
In the Gospel Jesus confirms that He is on the
side
of those who acknowledge Him as Lord.
Are
we bearing insult for our God; do our brothers
cast us
out because of the our faith; have we become
a stranger
to our children because zeal for the Lord
consumes
us? If so, we are in good company because
Jesus
suffered the insults of those who denied him.
What
is our remedy? There is only one way to turn,
as
our psalmist says. Pray to the Lord, that in His
great love He will
answer us,
that He will favor us,
and that He will help us. No one else
is merciful like
the Lord; no one else has unlimited amounts
of
kindness; no one else has the power to revive
us
from the inside out. We are His own and His
own
who are in bonds He spurns not.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Have you been spurned by family or friends because of your faith?
How do you respond?
2. Have you born insult for the sake of the Lord? How did you handle it?
"You who seek God, may your hearts revive!”
ReplyDeleteYes, the palmist assures us that we will get a remedy for our pain, suffering, insult, and shame, and from being persecuted by our neighbor because of our faith in God.
If I endure the scorn and continue to seek You, my heart will revive because of your great love and mercy. And Jesus confirms that He is on the side of those who acknowledge You as Lord. And so I can turn to God and ask you to save me and to help me.
You said that those who hope in You will never be disgraced. And so I am not worn out calling for help from you, almighty God. You will favor me because there is no one merciful, kind and loving like you. I have no doubt that You have power to transform me and change me from inside out. You confirm that my heart will be revived when I seek my Lord.
Yes, there were times that I was being insulted by my mother because of my wrong doings. In my mouth I proclaimed Jesus, but my action did not follow accordingly. I got mad and felt ashamed. What made things worse was that I picked a fight with her for my defense. I should have endured the insult, instead of yelling at her. I handled that situation poorly. I felt remorse for my weakness. I always need to ask God for the strength and willpower to remain steadfast for the glory of God.