Look to the Lord
Posted On July 17, 2009
Look to the Lord in his strength;seek to serve him constantly. (Ps 105:4-5)
Funny how words you’ve seen many times can suddenly jump off the page at you with new power and meaning. For some reason, the opening lines of the responsorial psalm at Mass one morning leaped out at me and stayed with me throughout the Mass.
Look to the Lord in his strength;seek to serve him constantly. (Ps 105:4-5).
Nothing really new, just a familiar bit of pious instruction. But somehow that morning the words had a different energy, hinging especially on the two action verbs: “look” and “seek.”
What struck me was that we’re not talking about a casual glance here, but a conscious, earnest, fixed gaze – and not just at the Lord, but at his strength.
How many times a day do I end up focusing on myself – my work, my concerns, my plans – in light of my own strength, my own ability (or lack thereof)? Sure, the awareness of God is there, but often relegated to the back of my mind. After all, I’ve got things to do. I can’t just pray all day.
Or can I? If I can just remember to stay present to the Lord, rejoicing in all he has done and trusting in all he can do, then all my daily activities can be done “through him, with him, and in him. As St. Paul writes, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
This intentional, continual looking to the Lord’s strength in all I do needs to be balanced by a second intention, capsulized in the next action verb of the psalm: “seek”.
I’m not just looking to the Lord’s strength to help get me through the day or accomplish my agendas. I’m actively trying to serve him constantly – in everything I do – striving to do his will, accomplish his agendas.
How do I do this? The next line of the psalm provides another active verb: “Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought.” I need to remember who this God is! Remembering all he has done, I can trust what he can do – and perhaps most importantly, what he wants to do. He wants to fulfill his covenant of love, and the psalm refrain echoes this reality into my heart: “The Lord remembers his covenant forever.”
Lord, in all I do, help me to remember that you are always remembering your love for me. Help me to rely on you as a child relies on his father, remembering that you are always faithful to your fatherhood.