Reflections
Psalm 86: 5-6, 9-10, 15-16 (Read)
“Turn toward me, and have pity on me,
give your strength to your servant.”
We pray, as does our psalmist David,
for the Lord to attend to the 'sound of
our pleading.' We take refuge in the same
heavenly Father that Christ did. Even
when we are far away, the Lord has pity
on us. Even though we forget Him, He
does not forget us. He searches our hearts;
He gathers us into His mansion
at the end of the age.
He empowers us to fight a good fight.
God saves us from our enemies, and also
from ourselves. All we have to do is
open our hearts to Him and do His will
by striving to be saved. For God gives
His children good ground for hope, and
He permits repentance for their sins.
(Wisdom 12:19, 1st reading)
Our Psalmist never stops asking,
and He is rightly sure,
that God could never stop giving.
God could scarcely resist our prayers.
Even though we do not know how to pray
as we ought, as St Paul says, the Holy Spirit
Himself intercedes with inexpressible
groanings. (2nd reading, Romans 8:26)
The Lord is present to us;
He listens; He pardons; He saves.
God's goodness overwhelms us.
Even nonbelievers will come to worship
God and glorify His name.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist is overwhelmed with the goodness of our
merciful Lord. Give an example of how God has attended
to the sound of your pleading and done a wondrous deed
in your life.
2. The Psalm is a prayer that God will strengthen and
empower His servant. Speak of how the Lord has empowered
you to do His will.
"You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity. Turn toward me, and have pity on me; give your strength to your servant." These verses (Psalm 86: 15-16) are somewhat familiar to any church-going Christian.
ReplyDeleteNever in my life have these words revealed such truth to me as this past week. I have two teenaged-children to raise in this age of social media. I have done my "smart mama" duty in instructing them never to post anything negative in print/text/instagram form. When one of my children became embroiled in an argument over name calling online, and when a friend's mother called me on it, I responded with confidence, even haughtiness, that this had been a misunderstanding. Upon further investigation, it became clear that my precious child was at fault. My pride as a careful mother was dashed. Humiliation overcame my heart. My prayers for guidance felt shaky. How could this happen?
What was the best next step? Just as the Lord is slow to anger and merciful, I approached my child with gentleness in confronting her. We prayed together that the other family would be understanding too, at least in time. I needed strength to do the right thing: call the other mother, explain, and apologize, and have my daughter do the same. If this were a sole mistake on my part, I could have done so in an instant. Having to do so on behalf of my baby, my pride and joy, required so much courage.
And then, our loving Father spoke to me in a devotional, an online one no less. He pointed me to Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." God is giving strength to this servant to take the next steps in righting a wrong. And guiding my child to do so as well. Yes, our loving Father is "attending to the sound of my pleading" (v.5) and "empowering me to do His will."
It is very easy to go about our busy lives and get so caught up with things that we put our time with God on the back burner. I have found myself doing this more often than I would like to admit. Naturally, who is the one I call upon when times are tough or I need help with something? Our Lord is always accepting me back despite my lack of commitment to Him.
ReplyDeleteToday as I grabbed my copy of "Jesus Calling" to read the daily devotion, it spoke to me directly. "Come away with Me for a while. The world, with its nonstop demands, can be put on hold. Most people put Me on hold, rationalizing that someday they will find time to focus on Me. But the longer they push Me into the background of their lives, the harder it is for them to find Me." This is very true in my experience, and I believe that this is our Lord calling me to Him and He wants me to put Him first and not to be pleading and calling upon Him only in times of need. This is His wondrous deed to me, opening up my eyes to the importance of putting Him first.
Like the psalmist David we have to be confident and acknowledge the greatness of God because He knows our situation no matter how desperate it becomes. He will hear our pleading.
ReplyDeleteWe must lift up our souls and worship before God, "There is none like you, O Lord." "No deeds can compare with yours." "You have delivered me from the grave."
God grants us the endurance to live through our circumstances, and also empowers us to fight a good fight, so that we can strive to do His will in the midst of hardships. This gives us a deeper relationship with God, renewing our love for Him.
One of many wondrous deeds which God has done in my life is that He brought me back to my spiritual life through illness and suffering. He encouraged me to be strong and self-sufficient when I am vulnerable, weak and frustrated with my disabilities. I learned to embrace the meaning of sickness thanks to His goodness and mercy. The Lord alone is God.