The Next Best Move
Dear Sutton and Savannah,
Good decisions don’t always result in great outcomes. Excellent choices don’t always produce outstanding results. You can do everything right and things still go terribly wrong. We don’t control all the variables and we never will. So when things seem to go upside down, I hope you don’t spend time and energy on trying to lay blame. Instead ask, what’s next? What is the next best thing we can do? There are seeds of learning in nearly every difficult circumstance. Water and nourish those seeds instead of wasting energy on blame or guilt. Listen to the wisdom within and let the outward circumstances bend toward your next best move.
-Dad
Inside Out Lectionary Letters
Year A - 2nd Sunday after Epiphany (Texts, Art, Hymns)
Readings for January 18, 2026
Isaiah 49:1-7 / Psalm 40:1-11 / I Corinthians 1:1-9 / John 1:29-42
Psalm 40 is in a section that is referenced as prayers of David. The reading is from the beginning of the Psalm and is a proclamation of deliverance and trust. The last six verses of the Psalm, which are not part of the reading, reference distress and petition. The poet tells a story of deliverance, and speaks about how the inner heart is aligned with the divine purposes of God. However, the story teller confesses that the current circumstances are filled with distress, struggles, poverty and sin (verses 12-17). The poem or song ends with the writer waiting for God to respond.
This is a difficult psalm, in part because it begins in deliverance and ends in struggle. It starts with a “new song” and moves toward a plea for help. The triumph proclaimed in the beginning seems to give way to the reality of current circumstances. And, those outward circumstances can play havoc with out plans, our perspective and our inner peace.
Verse 6 identifies the delimma of the outward journey. When we live from the outside in, we begin with our circumstances and offer outward responses such as sacrifice, obedience to the law, and commitment to producing good works. When we listen to the divine voice we are confronted with the reality that sacrifice and offering (the outward expression of the law) is neither required nor desired. The inner journey is the path to wholeness. And from there we are able to live from the inside out.
There are parts of me that want to stay busy, to offer something tangible, something measurable. Sacrifices are appealing that way. They let me feel accomplished. Inward listening, on the other hand, leaves me exposed. It requires patience, humility, and the willingness to be changed.
Something inside the psalmist has come into harmony with something larger than himself. The “law” is no longer external—no longer a demand pressing in from the outside—but rather an inner orientation, a felt sense of direction. From that posture, the external problems still weigh on us, but in a different way. They no longer feel eternal, omnipotent or as personal. Instead they fade under the light of faith, they bend under the weight of truth and begin to evaporate in response to the heat of inner strength.
Prayer
Lord, when conflicts escalate, problems mount, and circumstances overwhelm, please remind me that external acts of righteousness usually just pad my ego. Take me inward to a place of listening, and may listening be my act of prayer. Amen