The Earth is FULL of the goodness of the Lord. Psalm 33. I heard this Psalm during the liturgy a few weeks ago and it spoke to me. I heard it proclaimed and something inside me said “Indeed, it IS!”
How easy it is to become jaded when we hear the news. It’s so easy to become focused on the glass half empty instead of half full. Remember Chicken Little – THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING?! Have you become that person?
No doubt evil exists in the world, no doubt there’s such thing as spiritual warfare – in the world and in our own heads. However, there is no doubt that Christ, the all powerful good, is the victor! What does this mean for us? That there is so much more good in the world than there is evil. There is so much more to be grateful for than despairing. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians we hear that God’s weakness is stronger than humanity’s strength! Amen!
Let’s focus on the good! Let’s continue to pray. Prayer is powerful, prayer works, prayer makes us hopeful and prayer brings peace. I recently heard a beautiful, uplifting song on my way to Church that expresses a similar sentiment. It’s called Joy – by For King and Country. Listen here.
When you begin to fall prey to the negativity of the world or your own circumstances, remember to choose JOY because the Earth is FULL of the goodness of the Lord!
I fall victim to all the media and cable news we see pushed out at us daily. I get anxious and negative. Thank you for reminding us to bring it back to the Lord and fill ourselves with his goodness. Amen!
As a poet and a teacher of poetry, Psalm 119 is by far my favorite psalm. And as we know, all poetry should be read aloud in order to be fully enjoyed and (at least partially) understood. In the Book of Common Prayer 2011, we start reading Psalm 119 as part of Morning and Evening Prayer on the evening of the 24th day of each month and finish on the evening of the 26th day of the month. That”s five readingsthree evening readings and two morning readings. When one of the morning readings arrives on a Friday when our Anglican Church meets for our weekly Healing Service including Morning Prayer and Holy Communion, all present read it aloud, round-Robin, as you described above. Psalm 119 begs to be read aloud, and even when I am doing MP or EP by myself, I read it aloud anyway. It”s a psalm that soothes my heart more than most. I always sigh when we reach the 27th morning of each month, and we”re done with Psalm 119. Such powerful promises are worth re-reading again and againand definitely aloud. Soli Deo Gloria, Susanne 🙂