The verse that stands out for me upon this reading is verse 11. “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.” This psalm has it all: complaint, a plea for help, praise, and thanksgiving. “Teach me your way,” is not my natural response to difficulties in life. I tend to sound more like vs. 17. “Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame.”
How might we approach a difficult circumstance or difficult person if we focused on what we could learn from it/them? How would it allow us to recognize the movement of God and give us an undivided heart towards God’s way of being in the world? Think of someone who has harmed you or harmed someone you love. What have you learned from them? How might this learning affect the way you think, speak, or act?
Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for all the ways God is redeeming difficult moments in life and helping you to grow more fully into God’s image: “merciful, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (vs. 15)”.