WATCHWORD:
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.
6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they will be satisfied.
7 God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.
9 God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Matthew 5:3-10
Meditation:
Do You Feel Lucky?
There’s an iconic scene in the movie Dirty Harry, where the Clint Eastwood character has the drop on the bad guy and he makes the statement: “Do you feel lucky? Well, do you? Do you? The bad guy proved not be too lucky.
But, how about you? Do you feel lucky? Do you? You should, but it wouldn’t be luck, would it? It would be more like…blessed. Do you feel blessed? Do you? The answer should be, yes, I surely feel blessed. Even as I deal with difficult situations in my life, I feel blessed. Even in those times when I feel my age, I smile, and say thank you, Lord, for long life. Sure, I feel blessed. Sometimes, right after I get over feeling sorry for myself, then I ask the Lord for forgiveness, because I know that I am blessed.
One of my heroes in the early years of my faith walk was Joni Eareckson Tada. I marveled at the depth of her faith to overcome paralysis after a terrible, paralyzing accident when she was just 18. It took three years of struggling and seeking her relationship with God for her to begin to see the blessings still part of her life. One need only to check out her website joniandfriends.org to see the reach of her faith. Her song Alone But Not Alone speaks of her faith walk, never really alone, always with her Lord.
We may marvel at Joni’s ability to overcome, but the reality is we do the same thing. We may not have a tragic event occurring in our lives but often we feel that aloneness until we realize that we do not need to look for the Lord, He’s right there and He knows all about this darkness we’re dealing with. Which is exactly what Joni discovered.
Yes, we are blessed in so many ways, often in ways that we do not recognize at the time. But, nevertheless, when we pray to our Lord and Savior, when we call on the Shepherd of our soul, when, in desperation, we cry out “Help me Lord”, we don’t need to shout, he’s right here. His presence within us is a hard concept to grasp early in our faith journey, until it becomes second nature. When we experience the peace that surpasses all understanding, that comes with the conviction that the Holy Spirit dwells within, and the Holy Spirit is God.
Do we feel lucky? Well do we? We should, considering all the graces that fall around us, we should all feel privileged, blessed, lucky far beyond the secular meaning of that word. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
I wrote this devotional with the intent of posting it yesterday, Friday the 13th. Oh, well. I am sure we all got though that “unlucky” day unscathed. Oh, wait, Friday was blessed, just like today. Thank you, Lord.
Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to focus my mind where You want me to focus my mind. Take away any stray thoughts that distract me from my conversation with You. Help me to focus on on what You have given us. Help us to consider the beatitudes and ask your guidance in understanding the message that you have for us, a message that shapes our walk as followers of Yours. We consider the poor, and realize that we are among those. We do mourn and we seek justice, and without Your presence, we struggle. We try to be merciful and pure of heart, and often we slip. We recognize that we are children of God and, in our way, we do strive for peace. But, Lord, You know our hearts and You know our weaknesses. You have forgiven us time after time. We know that you love us. In that fact alone, Lord, we find peace. Strengthen us and our faith journeys so that our lives reflect the power of Your love. All of these prayers Lord we offer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
