“Keeping our focus”
By Rev. Mich
Meditation – Thursday, September 1, 2022
Psalm 37:1-17 (Forward, p. 34) CEV p. 576
One of the things that the Province of Alberta requires, as part of their new vehicle registration, is for the applicant to undergo a fairly simple and quick eye exam. I already knew that I need glasses, so that fact that I could not read more than the first one or two lines of the test pattern came as no surprise. And neither did my abysmal performance on the colour blindness test. But what absolutely surprised me, floored me, was that my sense of distance and closeness was seriously deficient. That is, I had trouble recognizing the signs that were very close to me. (Maybe that is why I tend to park far away from the curb, other cars, etc.) But then, that particular bad news was offset a mite by the fact that my peripheral vision was excellent.
The question of seeing properly, being able to see well, and have the proper (and correct) focus is central to the teaching and understanding of the Scriptures, to understanding and obeying God’s will and way, and to living life properly in the first place. In today’s psalm we are warned against having an improper focus, which is sadly so easy these days.
And what is it that we might focus on that we shouldn’t? Here our psalmist goes into great detail. (The list gets worse and worse as we go on):
Those who do wrong (verse 1);
Those who do sinful things (verse 7);
Merciless people (verse 13);
The wicked (verses 14, 20, 28, 32, 34, 40);
Evil people (verse 21);
Brutal people (verse 35)
Our psalmist goes into great and gory detail of their sinful, hateful, evil and malicious deeds. Furthermore, he mentions in passing the thoroughly disturbing fact that, for the meantime at least, everything seems to go well for these people. In fact, they seem, at present, to be prospering. Oh, how utterly galling that is!
But, then, he reminds us that their time will come. God will deal with them and they will get their comeuppance:
“Merciless people make plots against good people and snarl like animals, but the Lord laughs and knows their time is coming soon” (verses 12-13);
“The wicked kill with swords and shoot arrows to murder the poor and the needy and all who do right. But they will be killed by their own swords, and their arrows will be broken” (verses 14-15);
“Wicked people are enemies of the Lord and will vanish like smoke from a field on fire” (verse 20);
“I have seen brutal people abuse others and grow strong like trees in rich soil. Suddenly they disappeared! I looked, but they were gone and no longer there” (verses 35-36).
I dare say that each of us could fill in the blanks here, put in the names and situations from our lives and our world where evil and wrongdoing seem to prevail and flourish and justice does not seem to be done. It is good, and helpful, to know that this is only temporary, that God plans, and will institute, something far, far better.
That is why the psalmist’s overall message is so very pertinent for us today. On the negative side of the ledger:
-don’t fret or be annoyed by these people or their actions (verse 1a);
-don’t let it bother you (verse 7b);
-don’t be angry or furious over this (verse 8)
-and don’t envy them for their ‘seeming’ success (verse 1b).
And on the positive side of the ledger (positive actions we can take):
Be patient and trust the Lord (verse 7a);
Trust in the Lord and trust Him to help you (verse 5b);
Do what is right, what the Lord wants (verses 3, 4, 23, 27);
Obey the Lord and follow Him (verses 18, 34);
Let the Lord lead you (verse 5a).
The psalmist is most prolific, most verbose, in describing the positive, good outcomes that will come if we will only trust in the Lord and depend upon Him. But then, that requires us to focus on Him, and on Him only—and not on our problems—or on the seeming injustice in our lives and our world, or on the perpetrators of it. Yes, that proper focus is all important if we are to do well in our world today. Amen.
Forward notes: “Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass” (verse 5).
“Joan Didion’s A Year of Magical Thinking begins with this line: ‘Life changes in the instant. An ordinary instant.’ I think of those words often. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. There may be a birth or a death. There may be a surprise in the mail or a knock at the door. We may think we know what will come in the days ahead but none of us, no matter how rich or how wise, can really know what tomorrow will bring. What are we to do with this terrible and wonderful truth?
“Jesus shows us. His ministry is filled with prayer. He frequently withdraws from everyone so that he can spend time in prayer. He prays at meals, after healings, and at times of big decisions.
“The future is full of uncertainty. I find that unpleasant and maybe you do, too. But when we commit to the Lord and follow his practice of prayer, then we can take comfort in knowing that Jesus is with us. As Jesus said, ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ He was with me yesterday, is today, and will be here, beside me, tomorrow.”
Moving Forward: “How can you strengthen your prayer practice?