Daily Prophets
Day 54
“And on that day, you will say, O Lord, I praise You; though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away and You comforted me. Behold God is my savior, I will trust and no be afraid; because my strength and song is Adonai and God is my salvation.”(Isaiah 12:1,2).
The Hebrew phrase used in verse 1, “on that day or in that day” points to a future time and I believe that ‘future time’ could be anytime, even today. A different reading could be “On the day you say I thank You for turning away your anger and comforting me” which indicates to me that “that day” is the day we decide it to be. We get to choose when we will be grateful to God as a regular practice, for “returning my soul to me with compassion, great is Your faithfulness” as we say in the Modeh Ani prayer. This verse is reminding me/us that I/we have to power to choose the way I/we will live and the day I/we are firmly rooted(51%) in gratitude, compassion, faithfulness, comfort, etc.
Verse 2 is the confirmation of verse 1. Once I/we realize that God was angry at the way we used God’s gift of life to pervert justice, be unfaithful while trying to look good, crush the tablets of the covenant in a manner that made Moses’ breaking of them at the Golden Calf look meh, AND, God forgave/forgives me/us, welcomes me/us back and forgives us; I/we have to sing out in praise! This praise will come as the Song of the Sea came, spontaneous and with deep gratitude. The difference, to me, in this verse is that we realize the power of God to save us from ourselves whenever we turn back (return) to God. Unlike humans, who will ‘I told you so’ us to death or refuse to help because of anger, God is always wanting us/me back and when I/we understand this, we realize all the other things we believed would save us were “fools gold”. It is only God who will save me/us and for that I/we commit to trust in God.
This trust means that the fear that is paralyzing and false, and leads to a lack of faith, will no longer control me/us. It is my/our fear, that sends us looking for the “fools gold” mentioned above. It is the paralyzing fear of scarcity, being blamed, shame, immaturity, not being in power/control; that leads us to idolatry, to pervert justice and to break the spirit of the covenant even while ‘keeping’ the letter of it. Once I/we let go of this paralyzing fear, my/our eyes are opened and I/we experience the strength, salvation and melody of my/our soul, of God and my/our partnership with God.
Rabbi Heschel teaches us that these verses prove that God’s anger does not “obscure HIs love”. It is God’s love that redeems me/us, as I experience Rabbi Heschel’s teachings, and there has to be a reciprocity of that love by me/you. OY, this is where Rabbi Heschel is constantly irritating me, pushing me and believing in me. Rabbi Heschel channels the prophets’ belief in us, channels God’s belief in us that we can achieve, live the covenant and make “on that day” right here, right now, today!
Our politicians are finding old, new, same and different ways to continue to worship power and mendacity. They are up to their old and new tricks that harm the poor, the needy, that pervert the principles of democracy with locked, foul, and false election laws. They are so blinded by their own self-importance that they refuse to even experience God’s anger. The god they claim to believe in is another of those “fools gold” experiences, yet they continue to flaunt God’s call and continue to believe that the strength is theirs, comes from them and they can use it anyway they want. How foolish and how sad.
In recovery, we sing a song to God each and every day! For many of us, it is how we begin our days with a gratitude list. I know that the fears I have can only be overcome with trust, faith and surrender to God. I am powerless over people, places and things until I surrender, put my faith and trust in God and sing the song that God has put into my soul. Frank Sinatra sang: “Without a Song”, reminding us of Isaiah’s words, we all need to sing the song deep in our soul as Sinatra sings and Isaiah exhorts us to! This is the essence of the first three steps that many people in recovery say in the morning, I can’t, God can, please help. We “turn our will and lives over to the care of God…” each and every day in a show of trust, need and gratitude for our salvation.
I made this decision 34.33 years ago and, while I have tried to take power back at times, I have continued to be grateful and know that only God can save me. My trust in God has pushed me, pulled me and supported me through each fear I have faced. Knowing God is my strength has given me the courage to face injustice head-on, care for the needy in my midst and speak truth to power, whether they accepted it (and me) or not. I have sung a new song to God most every day. I am grateful each and every day for the gift of life and I do the best I can in the moment. I fall short, I get blamed and foibles used against me, I call on God for the strength to get up, do T’Shuvah and carry on- God has always answered me, helped me and saved me. How are you trusting in God and letting go of paralyzing fear?