The True Center


Psalm 97
1The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
2Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around.
4His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
5The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
6The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
7All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!
8Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O Lord.
9For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
10O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
12Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!

Have you ever had one of those days where getting two brain cells to rub together to form a cogent thought just won’t seem to happen? I think that the stresses of the last two months have come to roost in my head. It’s 1:30pm and I’m just not starting to think about writing something today. Maybe that’s just one brain cell beating its head against my skull. I don’t know.

And so this psalm comes up for my meditation and God brings me back to center. Every single word is about the Lord. There are no “I”s in this prayer. It is pure praise for the Living God who created and controls everything. My ability to perform isn’t listed here, only God’s. There aren’t even any requests in these words. All  the phrases are declarative. That’s just amazing. There’s only one verse of instruction – Rejoice in the Lord . . . and give thanks. I can do that. There is always reason to rejoice. And there is never a time when I don’t have at least a few things to be grateful for before the Lord who gave the blessings. So it’s pretty simple today. God is the center and that is what I’m going to hold onto.

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