Submitted by Rev. Dr. Diana C Leaf, Chaplain
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. – Psalm 19:14 (NRSV)
This verse, sometimes prayed on its own, comes at the end of a psalm that celebrates God’s awesome power as seen in both the wonder of creation and in the perfection of God’s law.
The psalmist acknowledges that God’s commandments and instructions are valuable and sweet and certain. They caution us to stay away from bad influences, admitting that it’s hard for us to see where we are going astray.
On days when the world feels overwhelming, I am afraid I get off track by looking for answers in the collective rather than the sacred.
I could be reading Psalm 19, but instead I am listening to media, looking for some tidbit of news or opinion that affirms my biases, feeds my anxieties, or dashes my hopes.
Right now, today, may be one of those times—for me, and maybe for you, too. And yet, I know I desperately need something better, something perfect, sure, and right, to turn over in my heart and mind.
What essentials of faith might we bring to mind instead on such days?
What core beliefs speak to you?
Meditate on those.
For me it goes back to “Jesus loves me,” learned on a tiny chair in Sunday school.
Now it’s to love God with all we are and all we have, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to hold on to what is good.
The world will still be what it is, but perhaps with such a meditation in my heart, I might be the person God wants me to be today.
Prayer
Rock and Redeemer, let the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you.