There are seasons in our life when we are consumed with grief like Azariah. All that was familiar is gone and the present is only one long-drawn-out sigh. It is in moments like these that we are more finely attuned to the Divine. God seems nearer to us in our grief and paradoxically distant as well.
I know that You are a God of love, pity, tenderness, mercy, and compassion. Both You and I are aware of all the ways in which I have failed You in the past and if now I have to eat the bitter fruit of my past mistakes who can I blame but myself. Thankfully, my Lord and my God, You are able to write a beautiful new symphony with the sorrow and contrition I now feel.
Uniting my voice with Azariah I pray,
But may the contrite soul, the humbled spirit be as acceptable to you
as holocausts of rams and bullocks,
as thousands of fattened lambs:
such let our sacrifice be to you today,
and may it be your will that we follow you wholeheartedly,
since those who put their trust in you will not be disappointed.
And now we put our whole heart into following you,
into fearing you and seeking your face once more.
Do not disappoint us;
treat us gently, as you yourself are gentle
and very merciful.
Grant us deliverance worthy of your wonderful deeds,
let your name win glory, Lord.
PSALM 24(25):4-6,7a-9 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Thank You for the hope I have in You and in Your love. Even though I have transgressed from my earliest days, You have shown great mercy to me. Even though I have known the path that I ought to have taken yet I strayed, but You have been exceedingly patient and kind. You have not punished me as I deserve.
Now, O Lord, my God, grant me this favor, that I may never again wander from the Way of Truth leading to Life. You are my Savior and my Redeemer and I put all my faith in You. I am called by Your Name, Beloved, and because I belong to You I implore You to keep me close to Your side all the days of my life.
MATTHEW 18:21-35 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Like Peter, we need to be reminded that we only fool ourselves when we place limits on love. Genuine love does not count the cost because it is forgetful of self, seeking only the good of the other. You have us a perfect example of selfless love on the Cross when You took upon Yourself the guilt and, the punishment of the whole world when You offered Yourself up to the Father in our place, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
The parable of the evil servant is a perfect example of how we deal with one another. Having been forgiven the most outrageous and heinous sins that we commit against God and our neighbor we are petty and fault-finding, as we querulously recall all the little injuries we have to endure.
You O Lord are a God of justice and we cannot escape Your righteous anger and judgment if we refuse to forgive one another from our hearts.
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