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Today’s Scripture~Isaiah 26.2-4 (ESV)
2 Open the gates,
that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
3 You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
4Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
The Church Father, Pseudo-Macarius (ca. 400), in his Homilies, reminds us that we, as creatures prone to error, are “shaken like wheat in a sieve.” We struggle to settle down, being pulled this way and that by a “seductive world.” We must experience a taming and conversion of our affections.
The Christian affirms with Pseudo-Macarius: “Christ can make a difference.” But how does Christ make a difference? “A Christian’s mind and heart can be centered on the divine. Over time this can free us from being sifted. It will bring us peace. We will live balanced lives.”
The seductiveness of the world pulls us away from living centered in our affections for the Living God. It imperceptibly, little-by-little, takes over our hearts and minds, like a rip tide drawing us away from what matters most to trivialities that promise peace and fullness but leave us disturbed and empty. We soon drown in worries and excesses. We become more concerned about what others think of us than what God thinks of us. We become overly dependent on the affirmation and expectations of others, rather than drawing our inspiration from communion with the Holy Spirit and His unconditional love.
The most damaging seductiveness for the Christian is not to gross sins of the flesh. Rather, the most seductive pull is to the subtle sin of misdirection of our minds and hearts. We will not likely do some “notable” sin, like thievery of another person’s goods, but our common sin is losing our centeredness of trusting communion in God and allowing our loving devotion to grow cold and indifferent, and insensitive, to the blessings and wooing of the Spirit of Christ.
As Isaiah says, we can have “perfect peace.” The way to that is to place the “mind-heart” on the Presence of God in our lives and world. We can do this, as Isaiah reminds us, when we “trusts” the Lord.
While so much is unreliable and misleading, a mere fog passing, we find peace in anchoring to the “everlasting rock.” Then, we enjoy balance, stability, strength, fortitude, and calm.
What does it mean to you that God is an “everlasting rock”? How might you begin each day acknowledging your trust in this “rock” and consecrating yourself to remember Him during the day?
Prayer
Everlasting Rock, I place my life and myself in your care today. I trust you. I will return to you through the day, depending on you to be my peace and inspiration. My heart belongs to you. My mind is all yours. Fill me with yourself. Praise you! Amen.
Pastor Brian K. Wilcox serves as Spiritual Leader-Pastor of Christ Community United Methodist Church, Punta Gorda, FL. He can be reached at shalom77@embarqmail.com .
©Brian Wilcox 08-14-07
*Material from Pseudo-Macarius from Near to the Heart of God. Ed. Bernard Bangley.
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