BE ENLIGHTENED
(Tuesday, November 12)
“I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall always be in my mouth. In the Lord shall my soul make its boast; let the meek hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my tribulations. Come to him, and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be ashamed. This poor one cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him from all his tribulations.” (Ps 33/34: 1-6)
I’d like to begin this Tuesday in the Spirit of this psalm. It doesn’t rant and complain about what is “wrong” with the world or with us, as the words we read or hear in the news (and share on social media) often do. No, the psalm teaches me humble gratitude, in the light and lightness of God-reliance, elevating me into God’s presence. His presence fills me with blessing or “ev-logia” that means “good words.”
Is this some kind of unrealistic optimism, blind to the burdens of being in a troubled world? No. It is a handing over of all these burdens to One Who is most real, and most capable of carrying them. In God, I find true relief from the stress of self-reliance and self-centered fear; I am “delivered from all my tribulations.” But let me not just think or talk about this. Let me re-connect with Him this morning in some heartfelt prayer, opening up to His ever-available help, to do the next right thing. “Come to him, and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be ashamed.” I do that today, because I can.
