Image from steemit.com
Hear Here: http://bit.ly/36oQFZW
137 You are righteous, O Lord, and your judgments are right. 138 You have appointed your decrees in righteousness and in all faithfulness. 139 My zeal consumes me because my foes forget your words. 140 Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.141 I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts. 142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your law is the truth. 143 Trouble and anguish have come upon me, but your commandments are my delight. 144 Your decrees are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live. (Psalm 119: 137-144 NRSV)
The Lectionary has a way of bringing scripture full circle and in this case, the gospel lesson of Zacchaesus comes back to this psalm where the psalmist writes in verse 141, "I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts." That verse written so many years before the Lord visited Jericho and the tree where the small man climbed to see Jesus and that entire story is fulfilled in this one verse.
In my Confirmation Bible that I received in 1961, I remember underlining Ecclesiastes12:1, "1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;" never realizing in that day that one day those years would have been long gone. I know that youth and smallness are not always related, but it does speak to the feelings one can have either as a youth or a small child. We may think like the psalmist, that we are small and despised, but the "precepts" of God speak another word; we matter to God.
The story of David and Goliath, Zacchaeus and Jesus, the unnamed girl and Naaman, all tell the story of the huge faith in their small bodies. When given a chance they were able to show just how strong and big the faith was and what they were capable of. And so it is with you and me. When given a chance, and sometimes those "chances" look like problems or worries or obstacles, let the faith be bigger than the fight it appears to be, in order to allow God to bless you and me right through it. Yes, we are children of God and God will be glorified in us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, shine in and through me, especially when everything around me seems dark and scary. Guide me to bless You and Yours. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Dear one, have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a giant of faith especially around those whom you think think you're small in faith!
Blessings of love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
