Living in the Spirit
August 29, 2018
Scripture Reading: Psalm 84
For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you. –Psalm 84:10-12
I left my sunglasses beside where I had set my purse the day before. As I rushed out to get to a meeting I grabbed the purse but not the glasses. I realized it the minute I backed out onto my driveway. I am light sensitive, and it must be very overcast for me to go without my sunglasses. I did not want to take the time to run back into my house, so I put my night driving glasses on which I leave in my car. They do the job, but not quite as well as my regular sunglasses. The lenses are yellow in the night driving glasses which does a good job taking away the glare of headlights but in the daytime, it discolors everything making many of the roofs of buildings look like they are capped with gold. (Just for the record, I do recommend using the night glasses at night. They do cut the glare from headlights.)
We have had a lot of cloudy, muggy weather including rain recently. The sun streaming on me felt so good refreshing my soul. For me to get the full benefit of the sun though, I must also have my shield, my protector, in this case, my sunglasses. I suppose sunscreen serves a similar protective purpose.
So, what does our scripture today mean when it says the Lord God is a sun and shield? Is the Psalmist saying that God shines light on all the opportunities available for us to fulfill our potential and if we let God, provides a shield against our following the wrong paths? We are all capable of both good and evil or what the Psalmist calls wickedness. When we solidify our relationship with God and use God’s shield to protect our path we are guided to the good. When we allow the world’s shield to guide us, we see things differently. What looks like gold through the world’s view is merely a discolor illusion.
Prayer: Lord, protect us from the allure of the common things that turn out to be destructive to us. Guide us to see where your light is shining on the better way. Amen.