Listen

God, you have ordered that your decrees should be kept most carefully. How I wish my ways were strong when it comes to keeping your statutes! Then I wouldn’t be ashamed when I examine all your commandments.

Psalm 119:4-6

Think

The author of the Psalm laments that reading the commandments and pondering how closely he is following them is a humbling experience. There is a pervading sense of shame and a strong feeling of being weak. However, when we feel this way we should not lose hope, because this kind of humility can prevent us from having a “holier than thou” attitude toward others or from succumbing to a desire to compare our Christian walk with someone else’s.

The plain truth is we are all in need of God’s strength, compassion, and forgiveness because none of us can get these decrees and commandments completely right on our own. The Apostle Paul once wrote that, “When I am weak, I become strong.” He meant when we are sure we have done all we can to follow the right path and still realize it is not enough, God will meet us at the point of our need and help us to reach our Christian goals.

Kamal Hassan

Pray

Compassionate Redeemer, I’m grateful that you delight in me even when I feel ashamed of my inability to follow your rules for life. May I walk humbly in this world, being careful to extend compassion and forgiveness to others as I receive it from you. Amen.

Go

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark black night

John Lennon/Paul McCartney in “Blackbird” (1968)