Reflections
“Look to God that you may
be radiant with joy, and your
faces may not blush for shame.”
Where does our joy come from?
How do we obtain a joyful spirit?
It comes from repenting and
returning to the Lord, just as the
Prodigal son returns to his father
in this Sunday's Gospel
reading. (Luke 15:11-32)
For our part, we too will be
embraced by the Father if we
humble ourselves before Him,
and confess our sins. Then He will
take us back.
Like the Prodigal's father, our Lord
watches for us each day, encouraging
us to lift our bodies out of our shame
and return to Him, to be reconciled,
to be restored, in a right relationship
with the Father.
“My soul will glory in the Lord,
that the poor may hear and be glad.”
The word poor is said to apply to one
who depends completely on God
for his deliverance and his very life.
That’s where we stand even today,
when we are short of endurance
along our own spiritual journey.
The psalmist recounts for us how
he gained deliverance, “I sought
the Lord, who answered me,
delivered me from all my fears.”
Despite the anguish in the psalmist’s
voice, there is also a powerful, joyful
spirit – “Look to God that you may
be radiant with joy, and your faces
may not blush with shame.”
Our Father watches for us each day,
encouraging us. He reconciles us
and restores us, and He provides
the inner strength we need to
complete our own spiritual journey.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist looks to God so that his face may not blush for shame.
Explain how you are overcoming your own shame this Lenten season,
by looking to the Lord, repenting, and becoming radiant with joy.
2. The Psalm's verses talk about those who are poor in spirit, totally
2. The Psalm's verses talk about those who are poor in spirit, totally
dependent on God. Speak about how you rely on the Lord for deliverance
and are saved by the Lord.
Taste and See that the Lord is good.
ReplyDeleteAll Christians, from the time of their new birth, are to hunger for the word. Peter compares this hunger to that of a newborn baby. A newborn baby does not need to be taught to hunger, to cry out for milk. The natural hunger is internally experienced and they make their voice heard. (1 Peter 2:2-3)
David invites us to taste the Lord. I love that image because it goes so much deeper than simply understanding with the mind, but it is ingesting with all the senses. Jesus invited us to eat his flesh and drink his blood. We are to make God a part of our inner being, to be fused with our DNA…and it is good.
As Christians, God expects that we are to hunger internally for His Word. Because His Word nourishes our souls, when we hunger, we are to cry out in desire and in need for the pure word and faithful teachings so that we will grow spiritually and so that we will “taste and see” the goodness and grace of our God. This echoes with Psalm 119:103, "How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!"