Psalm Meditation 1331 ¶Fourth Sunday of Advent ¶December 21, 2025 ¶Psalm 43 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2043&version=NRSVUE ¶When things go sideways in our lives our first thought can be to decide who is to blame and why it is someone besides me. It is all those other people who are out to get me anyway who caused this particular calamity. I do not deserve to be treated this way and God let me down by not protecting me from this trial. ¶If only God were watching out for me more carefully this would have happened to someone who deserved it and not to me. ‘God, now that you have let this happen to me, I am giving you this opportunity to fix it by leading me back into your gracious presence where I can go to your altar and praise you for welcoming me back to your presence where I belong. ¶After going through the blaming part, we get to where it isn’t as important to lay blame as it is to remember that God is with us to quiet our spirits and restore our faith. Even in the worst of situations we see that God is with us, to share our burdens and give us hope as we move into the future with the assurance of God’s abiding presence in our lives. ¶December 15, 2025 ¶LCM