Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered
Wait. This sounds a lot like yesterday’s admonition to pray continually.
My other choices came from Psalm 137, “How can we sing the Lord’s songs in a foreign land?” and Proverbs 28:15 “No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” I know I wrote on both of those topics lately. Something tells me these are all things I need to focus on right now. This happens to me. A lot. To quote Chrys Cymri, author of an urban fantasy series, “I wondered whether God was giving me a message or just having a good laugh at my expense. In my experience, it’s often difficult to distinguish between the two.”
You know the kind of thing that constitutes God having a good laugh - praying for patience and suddenly finding yourself waiting for EVERYTHING! The check is late, the line at Starbucks and everywhere else is long and slow, the package is delayed in shipment, the sermon takes hours to upload . . . Very funny, God. I get the message. (This would be why I do not pray for patience, by the way.).
So - pay attention to God all the time. Remember all the good stuff God has done and will continue to do. Accept that the current reality is the way things are just for today. Be willing to admit wrongs out loud, in front of God and everybody.
These all sound so simple. Not easy, because right now what is easy is to be distracted from the Good News by the bad news and the sad news. What is easy is to focus on what’s wrong and who is responsible for it instead of accepting the situation as it is and moving forward. What’s easy is to say “Sorry, not sorry,” and then go on to do that same thing over and over again. Doing the easy thing, in my experience, is rarely the same as doing the thing God wants me to do.
“Seek the Lord and his strength . . continually.” Seeking and relying upon the Lord’s strength is where my strength comes from. I need to remember that, all the time. Knowing that God is with me no matter what the situation makes it easier to sing, even in this foreign Covid land. And that writing I told my sponsor I was doing, but haven’t really started yet? Not doing it is all my bad, and I will get right on that. Really. It’s not like I have anywhere to go. . .
Merciful God, your strength sustains me. May I continually seek your presence and the knowledge of your will, so that I may always choose the right thing over the easy thing. Amen
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