Wait upon the Lord

 Today's psalm, Psalm 27,  encourages us to seek one thing: to "dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. I am asked to pray "that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple."  Believe that you "shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord."

Obviously we are given several choices by the psalmist! First, to "gaze upon the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple."  In all of the circumstances of our lives, we have the choice to gave on God's loveliness and upon  God's temple and the one who dwells there, the Holy Spirit. Our eyes are veiled, however, from that loveliness when we choose to dwell on the difficulties or problems we are facing or have faced:  the pandemic, being quarantined, harsh words by another person, the crimes being committed in our world and so on! 

Second choice: to look for "the bounty of the Lord."  In one of the meal prayers, we pray: Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts which we receive from your bounty..."  The question is: am I looking for God's bountiful gifts or am I focused on losses or on my poverty and the poverty of those around me?

Third choice: to "wait upon the Lord with courage; [to] be stouthearted and wait for the Lord."  How easy it is to fall into the trap of doing it ourselves and forgetting to wait upon the Lord. And we know when we do that! When we wait upon the Lord, He is then there with us, guiding us, strengthening us and enlightening us to do what is right, to say what others need to hear and are able to hear, or we are wise enough to remain silent period!  When we wait jupon the Lord, the outcome is then positive; we walk away feeling blessed and at peace with ourselves.

With the psalmist, I pray: "Lord, you are my light and my salvation!"  Thank you!