Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Psalm 25:4. 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6, 7. 

At the beginning of this chapter, Psalm 31, it says the Author is David, although some say Jeremiah. A psalm of deliverance. Reading it and thinking about my own life, I realize the deliverance it speaks of is deliverance from darkness. Have you ever felt alone or angry and in desperate need for help or closeness? This psalm speaks to that need. In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness…Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me…Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. v. 1, 3, 5. That last sentence Jesus spoke on the cross (Luke 23:46) and Stephen spoke as he was being stoned to death (Acts 7:59). I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. v. 6, 7, 8. That phrase, but have set my feet in a spacious place, I recognized and Googled to see where else it is written: (2 Samuel 22:20, Psalm 18:19, Psalm 118:5, and it further explained: where it denotes a place of openness, safety, and freedom)…in other words, in a beautiful place with God. And in this life we live are times of desperation in darkness – My eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief…My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak…I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery…v. 9, 10, 12. And yet, when we cry out to our Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit – who has never left us…But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands…Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love…How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you…In the shelter of your presence you hide them…Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love…Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help…Love the Lord, all his faithful people! Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. v. 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.  

I can look back on my life and see the times, like a rock skipping across water, that I have felt darkness and aloneness. Times I have cried out to God because my heart knew who I needed. My heart knows because of all the times before that, that I have shared in the joy of being with my God as we have delighted together in the beauty of His creation, in the joys of love and friendship spilling over from Him who Loves. God knows the high notes of joy and the deepest notes of sorrow because He is there always. We are His children and we are Loved. Be open to His Love for you and begin the mindfulness your heart longs for and already knows with Him. We are old Friends! I am beginning to embrace and grow in understanding that God is my Friend who has been there with me through every experience and moment of my life. He knows me intimately and guess what? He knows you intimately too! Never be afraid to share with God all you are going through and cling to Him because He cares for you. Useless idols, whatever they are, will fall away as you find your Home in Him. Here with Him your heart knows the spacious places of His Love and it is so Good!