November 17th - Reflection

Psalm 141 (NRSV)
God is my refuge

I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me;
give ear to my voice when I call to you.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not turn my heart to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with those who work iniquity;
do not let me eat of their delicacies.

Let the righteous strike me;
let the faithful correct me.
Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,
then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,
so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.

But my eyes are turned toward you, O God, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me,
and from the snares of evildoers.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I alone escape.

Reflection
Sometimes they are snares laid out for you to fall into the nets. Words can strike anger within you. You leap to reply, only to have words of defensive hate and anger spew forth from your mouth. We need to wait on God during these times before we open our mouths and leap into the snare. The sense of urgency to answer draws us away from our focus on God to a focus on defending ourselves. That's not what we want. We want our reaction and response to focus on the Truth of God.

That's all easier said than done. How many times have I opened my big mouth too quickly only to defend myself and lost all track of God or others. Lost track of the impact my words would have on God and other people. The wicked speech that provoked your response does not deserve a wicked reply. It's precisely at this point that we need godly separation from the ungodly. If only I could cease my selfish thoughts and think with my heart for a moment. Let God cease control of my heart and then my mouth that gracious and kindly words from God be spoken. Words meant to soothe and heal. That is the word of God in those times.

Prayer
Lord, stop me when attacked with words of others, not to respond, but to pause and keep my focus on you and the words you would have me speak. --- Amen