Noonday intensity

Trust in the LORD and do good;
live in the land and be safe.
Seek your happiness in the LORD,
and he will give you your heart’s desire.
Give yourself to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will help you;
he will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun.
(verses 3-6)

Read Psalm 37:1-9

I have felt the presence of the noonday sun in Israel. Like standing on the Eyre Highway in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain, in Israel it is hard to do anything else but notice the sun’s intensity!

As chosen children of God, our right relationship with the Lord has a stand-out intensity to those who are living in the darkness of a meaningless and vague existence. The psalmist calls on you to trust the Lord and act on that trust, to seek happiness in him, to give yourself to him today.

As you trust in the Lord Jesus, serve others, seek fulfilment in him and give yourself to him and his will, you will shine the intense light of Christ on all those around you. Their response to the light you shine could go either way—either warm reception or cold dismissal. Nevertheless, you are called to shine. And you are given the good news that, as you shine, the Lord Jesus will give you your heart’s desire.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your Son, Jesus, the bright morning star who has shone his love into my heart. Help me to trust you, give myself to you and shed your light on people around me today. Amen.

by Adrian Kitson, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

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