Focus
As you quiet yourself for this brief time, be willing to be open to God, however that may take place.
Read
Psalm 51:1-12 (NRSV)
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Reflect
One of my favorite hymns is “Be Thou My Vision.” I don’t remember singing it in church when I was growing up, but as I got older I grew to love the hymn. It has such a beautiful melody! I am also a lover of words, and I really pay attention to them when I sing. I want the hymn’s message to be relevant to the pastor’s message, and I don’t want to leave out verses that tell part of the story. It’s a pet peeve of mine when a congregation uses only a couple of the verses of a hymn, often because the service is lasting longer than normal. If someone writes a book, we wouldn’t tear out a chapter or two just because the story takes a while to read. In the same vein, we shouldn’t omit verses based on the amount of time it will take to sing a couple more.
So that I could fully understand what I was singing, I looked up the meaning of “Be Thou My Vision.” The song is believed to have been written by an Irish saint who was going blind. He felt that God could serve as his eyes because seeing through God’s eyes would make him more like Christ. God would be his vision, his presence, and his light.
If we could see as God sees, we would love as Christ loves. We would be focused on others rather than ourselves. We would become more like Christ.
Pray
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. May you be my focus today, and all days. Be in my thoughts all day and all night, and be the light I look to every hour of my being. Amen.
Go with God.
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.