The Divine Dope—Slap!
When a bad mood beats you up!. Dr. Gary Straub. Meadow@StMatthews. Ps 73. Pentecost—2026
What helps you change your mind when it is SO made up?
Do you ever make up your mind and then circle the wagons? Like a dog w/ a bone, you’re not about to give up or give in. Where’s that leave us? We need noble thoughts, lofty ideals and awesome inspirations—- but we hunker in the bunker—duck down behind the wagons.
Maybe an attitude adjustment would help, but we are just NOT in the mood! We require space & solitude; not to find peace, but to pout. Sometimes, we wonder: how’s come the wicked prosper? Here we are busting our brains, trying to ‘do the right thing!’ Meanwhile, they get the goldmine and we get the shaft! Doesn’t take a GPS to tell us: ‘sorry sulking’ is a bad neighborhood to visit … especially after dark. This dynamic lurks beneath Psalm 73. David is bent by the unfairness of life: bad folks get the good stuff; all good folks get… is envious.
Amidst this mean, mindless mental state, we sense a slight nudge, a budge— a breaking loose. Feels like some sort of inkling of guidance, inviting us toward the one place in the world we find sanctuary. Be advised: this nudge has nothing to do with your perspicacity, intelligence or experience. Its not from us; its for us. I call this ‘nudge’ —“The Divine ‘Dope—Slap’ of the Holy Spirit.” This is not a cuffing or a cussing. Most often, amidst gentle laughter, we are jarred loose from our locked up & locked down mindset with a jolt of —DUH! This duh is a God—gift, blessing us and busting us loose. This dynamic kicks in while David is bent by the unfairness: bad folks get the good stuff; good folks just get aggravated & envious!
Yet, even in our ‘hot mess’ mindset we present ourselves to The Presence. The slightest turning of our heart turns the heart of God toward us by the Spirit’s kindly grace. In the sanctuary, we get welcomed. We catch no condemnation for not coming sooner, or being a butthead or carrying a huge honking chip on our shoulder. Sanctuary is a guilt—free zone where we catch a breath; and regain our sanity, sobriety and salvation.In this split second of Spirit, we get gifted with a Do-Over! Our allegiance is authenticated, accepted and affirmed. “God is the strength of my heart! There is nothing on God’s green earth that I desire more than the honor of Your Guiding Counsel.” The Psalmist does a 180, as God’s Spirit invites an insight in this phrase: “as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord my refuge, and my legacy forever.”
Maybe it still seems a bit unseemly to imagine the Divine Action of God’s Spirit as a slap on the back of the head, accompanied by a ‘Duh.’
All I can say is: the gifts of God’s Grace are free— all we pay is attention.
