Not Without Him

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, November 10th, 2024:
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

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​R. Praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is the Lord who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

​R. Praise the Lord, O my soul!

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind and lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous and watches over the strangers.

​R. Praise the Lord, O my soul!

The Lord upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.

​R. Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I once had a friend say to me that, when I gave thanks and praised God for something I had done, I should take more credit for my accomplishments. She said, “It’s your effort, your talent, your work – you should own that!” I tried to explain that I wouldn’t have been able to do it without God’s gifts or help. Our worldviews were different in this regard, as were our experiences of God and our understanding of how He interacts with us and our material environment.

For me, when I sit down to draw or paint, there is a point at which it stops being my effort and the Spirit takes over – I can’t explain it any better – but I believe most people who have undertaken any form of artistic expression would acknowledge that our openness to the movement of the creative Spirit makes a difference in what is created. My best work has been done when I have been able to surrender my ability and ideas to Him, and to truly allow Him to guide my hand.

I was recently very fortunate to have participated in a local Iconography Retreat. One of the iconographers explained that artists never sign their icons as their own work because part of the process is understanding that the Holy Spirit is the One writing the icon through the artist. We need only open ourselves to His power and simply co-create with Him. What freedom and peace this affords us!    

The bottom line is that I, like the psalmist, believe that God does all this work through us and with us and in us, not Him by Himself or us on our own. And it is all the more beautiful because it is for His glory, He who has created all of the universe. We couldn’t do it without Him.

Let us pray: Lord, thank you for Your creativity and Your Spirit which allow us to be Your agents of beauty and newness in a world that, in so many ways, is in need of renewal and beautification. Help us to allow Your Holy Spirit to flow freely through us for this purpose and for Your glory! Amen.




Lindsay Elford

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