14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
It is this confidence that keeps us going in all the days of our lives, especially the dark days.
We are still in the season of Easter; we have just remembered anew the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. We have just celebrated his resurrection. This is the season when people in many Christian denominations have been welcomed into their community through their baptism.
When this psalm was written, the Messiah was still a promise, they did not know about Jesus, or the Good News of salvation earned by him. This psalm is attributed to King David who in the first verses of it claims Yahweh as his light and salvation. Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, the people were told that the goodness of God would lead them into eternal life if they were courageous and were willing to wait.
We have the privilege of knowing of the Messiah and his coming. We know that the promise has been fulfilled. But we still need to be courageous and wait for the Lord.
It is so easy when all is going well to forget about our need for God. Every day poses challenges for us, and some of these we don’t recognize as something that could lead us in the wrong direction. We think about someone who’s been sick, and we haven’t heard from in a while. Do we ignore the nudge, or do we call them and see how they’re doing? It can be so easy to forget about the needs of others and just think about ourselves.
Other times, we might feel ignored or insulted by someone; what is our response? Do we get angry, or forget about it?
We, like David, need to be courageous, remember the promise, don’t let the demons of today distract us, and wait for the Lord.
Lord, you gave King David the words we need to remember every day. You are our light, you are our salvation, help us to live each day with your presence ever in our minds. Amen.
