Psalm Reflection: The Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

“Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.” - Psalm 138

I have wanted to give up so many times lately.

I have wanted to throw in the towel in regard to my commitments and the things I try to be discipled in every day. I have hit so many walls that I have wanted to toss everything aside and crawl in a dark whole forever. Even as I write this I am battling the desire to quit and resort to comfort and complacency.

Maybe you have felt that way, too. 

This week, the Psalmist asks the Lord to not “forsake” His works. We are His works and we do not want God to abandon us, because we give up all the time instead of doing what we know we should be doing.

God never gives up on us. To “forsake” means to abandon, renounce or give up. We are promised over and over again in Scripture that He will never leave us, He will never turn away from us, and He will never withhold His mercy or forgiveness from us. 

Praise the Lord, that He is not like us. 

If I were God, I probably would have hit the reset button right away. He did everything perfectly, but His plan was derailed completely in what seemed like the first five minutes of humanity’s existence. Adam and Eve disobeyed and sin entered the world. Even when God called Noah and sent the flood, He still chose to keep moving forward with what He had. No second creation, no second Big Bang, no starting over. 

God will never forsake you.

Even though I may want to throw in the towel, I am made in the image and likeness of a God who is unrelenting in His pursuits and unable to abandon or forsake anything He wants to do. Even when we want to quit on ourselves because we think we will never overcome discouragement, temptation, sin, or a particular obstacle, the Lord still fights for us.

The Lord fights for us even when we have no fight left ourselves. That is the kind of God we know, love and worship. This seems completely foolish and a waste of effort at first glance, but God persists anyway because there is a deeper love, purpose and good that He wants to bless us with each and every day.

So, this week, give up. 

Give up your idea of what things will be like tomorrow.

Give up your desire to be perfect.

Give up your need to be in control. 

Give up your plans.

Give up your desire to do it all on your own.

Spend some time in prayer asking for the openness, trust and surrender to let God persist and fight in your life in the ways you do not have energy to fight on your own. Be honest in your insecurities and the ways you feel incapable or unmotivated. Let God fill those spaces where you feel lacking, so that He can accomplish His great work through you.

Only when we first empty ourselves, can we then be filled.

We are praying for you this week, that you be filled with God’s eternal love for you.

See you in the Eucharist.

Matt.