Too often the probing of a sore tooth is like our little lives here.  It hurts, so we torment ourselves with more hurt.  The mosquito bite that itches is scratched until it itches more and more and gets worse.  Sickness is amplified by the misery that accompanies it and we get worse just because it’s somehow comfortable to lay in the pool of our own mortality as it drains from us.

The same for spiritual hurt.  We aggravate our condition rather than seek ways to escape it.  Our appearance makes us miserable so every time we get the opportunity, we make sure to remind ourselves how much we hate it.  And we make sure others know it too.  Our loss of confidence, our insufficiency, our ignorance all seek to take over every conscious thought.  Our plumbing of the depths of our own weakness becomes a goal when it should be a tool to overcome.

I know I am broken.  I know I fail to do the things my Lord has set before me.  Instead of wallowing in this misery of imperfection and weakness (utter destitute misery, in other words), I must strive with all the strength I have to put my faith in front of all of it.

We need to trust in Him who is sufficient for all the things we must be, do, have.  Success, self-image,  confidence, even every daily breath is provided by the Lord.

Today’s Sunday School lesson is on faith.  The text is Romans 4 but reaches all through the Bible, touching on David, Abraham, Moses and all the rest.  Essentially, our faith is what has saved us, set us apart for God, has made it possible to be what He wants.  Nothing else has even a possibility of helping us.  The message for class is on faith related to salvation and the opposing concept of works, but it is applicable to this discussion of healing my Beloved, too.

So I read David this morning:

Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.

For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.