My CHOOSER determines my life and salvation. I must choose to believe God not the lies. Grace is there, stop blaming God for my wrong choosing.
READ
21 Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation. (Psalm 78:21–22, NKJV)
REFLECT
The Lord was furious and his anger was kindled and came against his people because they did not believe in God and did not trust His salvation.
PRAY
Jesus, you get angry at our unbelief. You consume us with your fire so that we will turn to you. I must choose to believe. You will not force me to believe. You can force me to want to run to you but people are running away instead of to you because of our unbelief. It is going the opposite way. I must choose. It is not a feeling. It is a choice. My chooser is either working for me or against me. You have not changed. It is I who change. Help me become stable in my mind, It is a mess. I choose to believe! Help my unbelief! In your name I pray! Amen.
READ
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:3–4, NKJV)
REFLECT
Trust in God and do His will which is good. Dwell here feeding on His faithfulness. Delight in Him and you will have your desires fulfilled because He is who you desire.
PRAY
If I would abandon myself into your hands and delight myself in having you knowing you are completely faithful I will have all I need and can do good and not worry about anything. I must believe in You and your wanting me and never leaving me. Help me Father see you. Help me know you. Help me believe you. I need your Grace. Is that an excuse for not believing? Am I blaming you for not believing? Thinking in need more grace? Maybe the grace is there and my part is not. Break my heart open so I can see. I love you my God. Amen.
READ
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm. (Psalm 37:7–8, NKJV)
REFLECT
Rest in God’s care. Wait in patience for his will. Do not fret about evil and those who get by with it. Cease from anger forsake wrath it causes you to do evil.
PRAY
Again, I must trust in you! I must choose to believe and willing to abandon myself into your hands. I need to stop looking around at others and what they are doing. Look in my at others makes me full of anger wrath and then I act out in evil. I must choose your ways or I become separated from you and become evil like the devil. I must choose to forsake that path! Before I can choose that I must believe your way is the best! Help me!! Amen.
READ
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him. (Psalm 37:39–40, NKJV)
REFLECT
Salvation is from God. He is my strength all the time but especially in trouble. He will deliver me and save me. My part is to Choose Trust in Him!
PRAY
Again I must choose trust! Jesus I am so sorry. Please forgive me. Please wash away all my sin of unbelief and make my heart soul mind and body new. I CHOOSE to TRUST. I believe you! I am yours, save me! Amen.
magisterium:
### The Call to Trust in God's Saving Power
The Psalms you reflect on powerfully underscore the biblical imperative to **choose faith and trust** in God's salvation, echoing Catholic teaching that salvation requires our free response to God's prior grace. While God offers sufficient grace universally—willing the salvation of all—human freedom must cooperate through belief, delighting in the Lord, and patient waiting, lest unbelief provoke divine anger and lead to separation from Him.
### God's Wrath Against Unbelief and the Choice to Trust
Psalm 78:21-22 reveals God's fury kindled against Israel **"because they had no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power."** This mirrors Jesus' rebuke of unbelief (Mk 9:19) and the Church's insistence that **faith is necessary for salvation**: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk 16:16). Your reflection rightly identifies unbelief—not a lack of grace—as the root of turning away from God. Catholic doctrine affirms God's universal salvific will: He desires all to be saved, providing prevenient *operative grace* that precedes and enables conversion, yet this grace **can be refused**, compounding guilt. As St. Thomas Aquinas notes on related Psalms, true hope rests in trusting God alone, not "vanities and lying follies."
Your prayer—"I must choose to believe... Help my unbelief!"—captures the synergy of grace and will. Grace does not coerce; it invites a free "yes," as in Mary's fiat (Lk 1:38). Blaming God excuses nothing; rather, recognizing grace's presence calls us to **cooperate daily**, opening ourselves to its transformative fire.
### Delighting in the Lord: Trust, Doing Good, and Patient Waiting
Psalms 37:3-4, 7-8, and 39-40 form a unified exhortation: **"Trust in the Lord, and do good... Delight yourself also in the Lord... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him... The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord... because they trust in Him."** Aquinas expounds Psalm 37:16 as hoping in God who hears us, and Psalm 36:4 as delighting in the Lord to receive heart's desires. This is no mere sentiment but a deliberate choice amid trials, fretting over evildoers, or personal turmoil.
Church teaching nuances your insight: Salvation flows from God's strength, but demands our **free commitment**, responding to His "prior and superabundant love" with concrete acts. Grace empowers this—operative grace moves the will toward good, becoming cooperative when we assent—yet we must "use the means He sets before us," as St. Francis de Sales urges. Fretting breeds wrath and evil; instead, **abandonment to God's faithful hands** aligns our "chooser" with His will, fostering stability. Even in weakness, we can be assured: God intends salvation for the believer who trusts Christ's promise, despite shortcomings.
| Psalm Verse | Key Command | Fruit of Trust |
|-------------|-------------|---------------|
| 37:3-4 | Trust, do good, delight in the Lord | Desires fulfilled; faithfulness as sustenance |
| 37:7-8 | Rest, wait patiently, cease anger | Deliverance from harm and evil schemes |
| 37:39-40 | Trust in Him | Strength in trouble; salvation from the wicked |
| 78:21-22 | Believe and trust His salvation | Avoids God's anger; union with His power |
### Cooperation with Grace: Your Part in Salvation
Your repeated emphasis—"I must choose trust!"—aligns with the Church's rejection of both Pelagianism (salvation by human effort alone) and determinism (grace overriding will). God provides **all necessary means**, including sufficient grace for every good act, but we must accept and use them resolutely. As the Ukrainian Catechism teaches, our vocation is to **"remain open to grace... saying 'yes' to God every day,"** growing through cooperation exemplified by Mary. St. Francis de Sales echoes: God wills our salvation "through exceeding desire," endowing us with grace, but conformity requires using it without shrinking back.
Is needing grace an "excuse"? No—grace is not absent; it precedes faith (prevenient), enabling choice without violating freedom. Thomistic theology, which you affirm, holds God moves the will efficaciously yet freely, as a secondary cause. Praying "Break my heart open" invites this: Grace perfects the will, but your choice activates it.
### Living the Psalms Today
These Psalms counter despair by directing gaze from others' prosperity or personal mess to God's fidelity. In daily life—amid anger, doubt, or trouble—**choose trust concretely**: Dwell in Scripture, delight in prayer, do good despite fretting. The righteous are saved **because they trust**, cooperating with grace for theosis.
In summary, your reflections faithfully capture the Catholic harmony of divine initiative and human freedom: God offers salvation through Christ, enkindling grace universally, but unbelief resists it. Choose trust daily—He delivers those who do. May this stability anchor you: "I choose to believe!"
No comments:
Post a Comment