I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and be glad.
Ps 34: 1-2

Of these verses, Margaret Silf reflects:
All seeking after and striving for peace in our world begins
  in the most unpeaceful place we know: out own hearts.
When we tune in to the heartbeat of God, then our words
  will be truthful and our actions pure. Only then will the
       world begin to move closer to God’s peace.

How true that reflection is. Whenever I am agitated, through anger, depression, fear, frustration, hurt, rejection, then my heart is dark, my thoughts negative, my words and actions less than kind, not to put too fine a point on it.
Lord, teach me to step outside the negatives of life, treating the superfluous with disdain, learning the lessons of only the negatives that are relevant to me, looking for the silver lining in the cloud. Grant me patience and kindness in my times of trouble, and if needs be, the ability to keep my mouth shut if only my negativity will emerge otherwise.

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When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 15: 54-57

Where is the sting of death?
In my heart, in missing loved friends and family whose days on earth have ended.
In my heart too, the death of relationships, especially being cut off from family.
But I await the resurrection when all will be made whole again and only love will endure.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers.”
And he lay down and slept under a broom tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”
And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank, and lay down again.
And the angel of the LORD came again a second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you.”
And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
1 Kings 19: 4-8

God send these angels to me in my hours of need.
And let me be such an angel to others when their turn comes.

Oh, restore me to health and make me live!
Isa 38: 16

My spirit has taken such a battering. There is so much suffering with no end in sight. But I know, in spite of that, that there is a spark somewhere, waiting for me and it to connect.
Lord, bring on the day when that spark will light the fire that will make me fully alive. May that day come, and come soon.

And preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.
Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgement for the land of Sodom and Gomor’rah than for that town.
Matt 10: 7, 14-15

In this wealthy country we cut financial support to those who are in need, we tolerate run-down public schools while wealthy schools reap money for more and more “extras”, we cut funding to hospitals on a regular basis, and of course, we turn back refugees. So few people are listening when the kingdom of heaven is preached. Woe to us indeed.
Please God, grant ears to hear to those who aren’t listening.

And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.
And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them.
And the demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine.”
And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters.
Matt 8: 28-32

For some time now I’ve felt like those demons and those pigs. Cast out by my family, for my sins. But are they cured of whatever ill I brought them? I see evidence of much unhappiness still and very little happiness. Certainly, I’m unhappy.
Please God, shine a light on the troubled souls in my family, especially mine. Let someone amongst us see a way to break this long-standing impasse. You know I’ve tried, without success. How long must I wait, O Lord?

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;
yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’
For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.
Matt 6: 25-34

This is one of my favourite passages in the bible. The birds of the air are fed, the lilies of the field are gloriously ‘clothed’. Yet how much more are human beings than these? God loves me, God cares for me. The world might not love me, I might not love myself, I definitely worry too much that I have to take care of myself. I can let it all go, if only I choose to. And there’s the rub: trusting in God, that that is sufficient.
Oh God, when I’m tempted to despair and lack trust, send me birds and flowers to remind me that I’m on the wrong track.