photo: unsplash graphic: Martha G. Brady
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.Psalm 73:21-28 (ESV)
I decided to share this Scripture today for our meditation. It is a great reminder to me of times I was embittered, brutish and/or ignorant. But GOD, the One who is continually with me, holding my hand, continues to guide with His counsel.
Once more touch of GOD’s grace is shown to me despite my failures and fickle behavior
It is just one more way I see His grace. It has nothing to do with what I deserve. My immaturity, outlandish stupidity about life, my unawareness of how unaware I truly was, and of course, my native sinful heart…all contributed to the kinds of things David talks about here.
But out of that realization comes the awareness that He is the only One I have to help when life becomes overwhelming! He is the One in whom I can take refuge.
What comfort! My response is Whom have I in heaven but you?
As I looked over this passage, I found so much to identify with, particularly from those days in Jamaica! God has been so good to us. I think you’ll find much to identify with as well!
It is now that I can look back and see how wonderful He has been over many years of service to Him…and share the news of His good works with others.
How delightful!
What a great Scripture, and I can relate to it a lot too in the things I’ve been writing about this month. I think realising God is there to help and strengthen us when life is overwhelming is one of the most important lessons we can learn in any situation.
I think you are so right carly. when i was looking for a passage i knew i found it when i saw this one! i thought it was beautiful…comforting and hopeful as well even if the mess we are in is our fault!