Triumphant living

Today's First Reading and Responsorial Psalm at Mass are full of phrases the capture the essence of what it is like to live in a triumphant relationship with God.   Look at all these that come from Isaiah 50:5-9 and Psalm 116.

The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced.

See the Lord God is my help, who will prove me wrong?

I love the Lord because he has heard my voice in supplication.

The Lord keeps the little ones; I was brought low, and he saved me.

For he has freed my soul from death , my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.  I shall  walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

A cursory reading of the Bible will reveal thousands of phrases like this that speak of the Lord in terms of someone who can help us stay positive and focused in the midst of all our sorrow and woe, and help us rise above it, no matter how dire the circumstances seem. 

The Lord is described in the Bible, among other things, as a "shelter", a "refuge", a "King", and above all as  "Father". 

When we get discouraged about ourselves or about troubles in the world at large, we need to remember He is in control.   He is God.  (Psalm 46:10  "Be still, and know that I am God.")
If we are worried about our finances, He is the great Banker who owns all the world's banks! (Phillippians 4:19, God has "glorious riches")
If we are sick, He is the great Doctor, the creator of all the medicine and author of all the miracles ever documented.  Jesus describes Himself as a physician  (Mark 2:17).
If we are worried, He is there to calm our fears; think of Our Lord in the boat with the disciples as it was being rocked by a fierce storm (Mark 4:35).
If we are hungry or thirsty, He is he Bread of Life!  (John 6:35)
If we are lonely, Jesus says "I call you friend"   (John 15:15)
If we fear getting old, Our Lord says old age is a blessing ("Gray hair is a glorious crown", according to Proverbs 16:31)

And the list goes on..

When we "walk before the Lord"  we are always indeed "in the land of the living", as we prayed in the Responsorial Psalm today.  It can be gloomy and hopeless all around us, but with the Lord on our side, we are never defeated, we are never out for the count.  God will always give us the strength to get moving again and we can always live triumphantly, even if the circumstances within and around us would seem to dictate otherwise.  We just have to turn to Him.

Joseph faced some very difficult circumstances in his life from the troubling situation with Mary getting pregnant not by him, to Herod seeking out the blood of all first-borns and as a result, them having to flee their native country, to not being able to locate Jesus at one point.  Through it all, He trusted in the Lord, and the Lord provided, as He will for us in our need, not just today, but everyday.  
Joseph's life, despite its difficulties, was ultimately triumphant.  He is now a Saint,  his son is the biggest success of all time, and He is now is patron of the Universal Church.  Joseph, perhaps like ourselves, may not have seen everything in this life; we may have to wait until the next life to see exactly how triumphant our life with the Lord is.   However, even if our life remains a struggle until the day we are die, with the Lord, we are always triumphant!

Saint Joseph, pray for us.