Today's Meditation - Saturday, October 3, 2020

 Today's Meditation

Read Psalm 25

¹To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

²O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.

³Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.

⁵Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.

⁶Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

⁸Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

⁹He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

¹⁰All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

¹¹For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.

¹²Who are they that fear the Lord? He will teach them the way that they should choose.

¹³They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land.

¹⁴The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them.

¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.

¹⁷Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.

¹⁸Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.

²⁰O guard my life, and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

²¹May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

²²Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles.

    What I appreciate about this psalm is that the psalmist is willing to acknowledge his/her guilt, learn from mistakes, takes some ownership in them and wants to seek the Lord's counsel and instruction.  James Baldwin wrote, "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."  Baldwin does point out that there is some limitation that we have over our circumstances, over how much we can change, but until we are willing to face our faults and failures, place our lives in God's hands and seek to change our lives, nothing will change.  

    Where in your life do you need to seek God's counsel and face some changes in what you do, how you respond?

The Potter's Hand