#Faith

Have You Been Around The Block–With God? Psalm 71

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Hi Family! Getting back track with the Daily Devos as well. Below are the devotions from this week all in one fell-swoop. These are on Psalm 71.

Have you been around the block? The older we get the more we’ve “been around the block,” as the old saying goes. There’s wisdom from those who have been around the block. God’s been around the block since eternity!

The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Series C

Psalm 71

Have You Been Around the Block A Few Times?

God’s Been Around The Block From The Beginning of Eternity

The Propers for the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany, Series C

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10, 17-19

   This is known as the call of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was young when God called him to be His prophet. Jeremiah was inexperienced. Afterall, he hadn’t even been a quarter of the way around the block, let alone living a life that goes around the block a few times.

   God assures Jeremiah not to worry. God knew him long before he was born. God was with him at that moment, and God would be with Jeremiah every moment of his life.

Epistle Reading: 1Corinthians 12:31-13:13

   This reading is read very often at Christian weddings, and understandably so. Paul speaks about love. However, in context this reading isn’t simply for Christian weddings. This reading is for ALL Christians as we travel around the block of life.

   As we go around the block year after year we encounter all kinds of people. These people are in our own families. These people are in our places of work and school. These people are in the circles of our daily lives. And, when you think about it, we too are in the circles of other Christian’s lives, so these words apply to them when they encounter us.

   Substitute the name “Christ Jesus” every time you read the word “love” and see how this passage applies to you as you go around the block with God.

The Gospel Reading: Luke 4:31-44

   Jesus begins His healing ministry, and it begins by taking care of the devil and demons and putting them in their place. I personally know a couple of people who have worked in this realm, and I have absolutely no reason to doubt that the devil and demons continue their work to this very day. We should not discount this, but we shouldn’t focus and freak out about this either.

   Behind every problem and “nothing good” is the kingdom of darkness. Jesus’ healing ministry shows us what life eternal will be like for all people when He returns and our trip around the block of life comes to an end. Until that day, we commend everything over to our heavenly Father Who’s been around the block since the beginning of eternity.

Luther’s Morning Prayer

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Luther’s Evening Prayer

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Psalm 71

1          In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;

                        let me never be put to shame!

2          In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

                        incline your ear to me, and save me!

3          Be to me a rock of refuge,

                        to which I may continually come;

             you have given the command to save me,

                        for you are my rock and my fortress.

4          Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

                        from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

5          For you, O Lord, are my hope,

                        my trust, O LORD, from my youth.

6          Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;

                        you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.

             My praise is continually of you.

7          I have been as a portent to many,

                        but you are my strong refuge.

8          My mouth is filled with your praise,

                        and with your glory all the day.

9          Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

                        forsake me not when my strength is spent.

10        For my enemies speak concerning me;

                        those who watch for my life consult together

11        and say, “God has forsaken him;

                        pursue and seize him,

                        for there is none to deliver him.”

12        O God, be not far from me;

                        O my God, make haste to help me!

13        May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;

                        with scorn and disgrace may they be covered

                        who seek my hurt.

14        But I will hope continually

                        and will praise you yet more and more.

15        My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

                        of your deeds of salvation all the day,

                        for their number is past my knowledge.

16        With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;

                        I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17        O God, from my youth you have taught me,

                        and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

18        So even to old age and gray hairs,

                        O God, do not forsake me,

             until I proclaim your might to another generation,

                        your power to all those to come.

19        Your righteousness, O God,

                        reaches the high heavens.

             You who have done great things,

                        O God, who is like you?

20        You who have made me see many troubles and calamities

                        will revive me again;

             from the depths of the earth

                        you will bring me up again.

21        You will increase my greatness

                        and comfort me again.

22        I will also praise you with the harp

                        for your faithfulness, O my God;

             I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

                        O Holy One of Israel.

23        My lips will shout for joy,

                        when I sing praises to you;

                        my soul also, which you have redeemed.

24        And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

             for they have been put to shame and disappointed

                        who sought to do me hurt.

Monday, February 3, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: He’s Always There

1          In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;

                        let me never be put to shame!

2          In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

                        incline your ear to me, and save me!

3          Be to me a rock of refuge,

                        to which I may continually come;

             you have given the command to save me,

                        for you are my rock and my fortress.

            Are you pessimistic or optimistic about the future? Maybe it depends on your age or what generation you’re in. I recently heard that that GenZ is pessimistic on the American Dream—owning their own home—because of the current state of the economy, the interest and mortgage rates, the inventory of homes available, and the increasing prices of available inventory. I guess if I were GenZ, I might be a little pessimistic as well.

            It doesn’t matter if your age puts you in GenZ, Millenialists, GenY, or the Silent Generation. Every age, every generation, every century and millennia has its challenges. As times change there are two constants. One constant is that there will always be change. The other constant is that God NEVER changes.

            The Psalmist is in his old age as he writes this psalm. He’s been around the block. The one thing he knows for sure is that he’s never too old for God. No one ever outgrows his or her need for the Lord in their life.

            God is the One in Whom we take refuge because God is faithful. God will never ever disavow Himself of you. That’s the promise He made to you in your Baptism.

            God’s righteousness is not something that’s abstract. His righteousness is action, and that righteousness is seen in full display on the cross.

            God is your rock of refuge. He’s not a pebble, and He’s not a big stone. God is a rock, an immovable boulder as evidenced on the boulder of Calvary. Jesus’ arms are always open 24-hours a day, 7-days each week, 52-weeks out of the year.

656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

1     A mighty fortress is our God,
    A trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from ev’ry need
    That hath us now o’ertaken.
The old evil foe
Now means deadly woe;
    Deep guile and great might
    Are his dread arms in fight;
On earth is not his equal.

Text: Public domain

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: He Knew You Before Time Even Started

4          Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

                        from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

5          For you, O Lord, are my hope,

                        my trust, O LORD, from my youth.

6          Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;

                        you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.

             My praise is continually of you.

            The Psalmist seems to be playing Monday morning quarterback. After all, isn’t it always easier to see what’s going on after the fact? However, the Psalmist is still in the game of life, and so are we.

            The Psalmist didn’t know exactly what awaited him in the future, except for death. He knew that. The older we get the more attuned we are to our mortality as each day brings us one

step closer to Death’s door.

            The Psalmist knew something about God, however. He knew that God was always faithful even when the Psalmist wasn’t faithful to God. It’s God’s constant and never-changing faithfulness in which he trusted, and he trusted God from his youth.

            God knew the Psalmist. And God knows you. God knew you way back from the beginning of eternity. It was His plan to bring you into His very good creation. Yes. Satan disrupted God’s creation, but the devil can never disrupt God’s plan nor God’s plan for you.

            “Hope” is an expectation, an optimistic outlook. The only reason the Psalmist and we can have an optimistic outlook is because of Jesus’ perfect life lived for you, His death on the cross for the complete and total forgiveness of everyone’s sins, and His resurrection leading to the new and perfect life freed from any consequences of sin.

            This hope has an eternal home in the Christian’s heart. This hope has an eternal home in your heart too. You are a part of God’s plan; therefore, you can lean on Jesus at any time.

Wednesday, February 5,  2025

Going Around the Block With God: Escape To Reality

7          I have been as a portent to many,

                        but you are my strong refuge.

8          My mouth is filled with your praise,

                        and with your glory all the day.

9          Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

                        forsake me not when my strength is spent.

10        For my enemies speak concerning me;

                        those who watch for my life consult together

11        and say, “God has forsaken him;

                        pursue and seize him,

                        for there is none to deliver him.”

            Aging is difficult. There’s no doubt about that. Our bodies give way to time as parts wear out. The older we get the more we attend funerals of our friends and family members. For some, maybe for many, the retirements we dreamed about don’t seem to materialize for one reason or another.

            The unbelieving world may look at the Christian in these circumstances and say silently or out loud, “Where is your God? Maybe He’s forsaken you. Maybe He’s not real at all.”

            The Psalmist has been around the block a number of times, and he’s been around the block all those times with God. There’s a different reality he knows, and that reality is God’s reality for him. He looks back on his long life and remembers how God has always been with him and seen him through the good as well as the tough times. We know this because he continues to come back to God; the same God of his youth, the same God of his middle-age, and this is the same God in his old age.

            YOU are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with YOUR praise; and with YOUR glory all the day.

            God’s reality for the Psalmist is the same reality for you, despite what the world, the devil, or our pasts and sins say otherwise. Your enemies of sin, death, and the devil will not succeed. They’ve been defeated at the cross and the empty Easter tomb. Because of this, God will never leave you nor forsake you.

656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

2     With might of ours can naught be done,
    Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the valiant One,
    Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this?
Jesus Christ it is,
    Of Sabaoth Lord,
    And there’s none other God;
He holds the field forever.

Text: Public domain

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: Count Your Blessings, Name Them One By One

12        O God, be not far from me;

                        O my God, make haste to help me!

13        May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;

                        with scorn and disgrace may they be covered

                        who seek my hurt.

14        But I will hope continually

                        and will praise you yet more and more.

15        My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

                        of your deeds of salvation all the day,

                        for their number is past my knowledge.

16        With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;

                        I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

            Verse 13 seems rather odd, and on the surface very non-Christian like. Are we to wish that our accusers to be put to shame? Are we not supposed to love them according to Jesus’ own words? Absolutely! We are to love them!

            The Psalmist is not wishing these things upon his enemies. After all, no one is righteous, no not one, including you and me. While we still enemies of God, He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us all. The Psalmist predicts what will happen to them if they don’t repent and turn to Jesus.[1]

            The Psalmist returns to his own situation. He knows that he’s accepted God’s reality for him, which is God’s undeserved and unmerited grace and forgiveness. After being around the block so many times with God the Psalmist continues to count his blessings from the LORD and praises Him for them. Likewise, he doesn’t want to keep these a secret, but rather he lives them out daily.

            When life in this broken world, and your sins begin to get the best of you, go around the block with God counting your blessings. Begin with your Baptism and see what God has done, and continues to do for you. God has blessed you in so many innumerable ways!

656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

3     Though devils all the world should fill,
    All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill;
    They shall not overpow’r us.
This world’s prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
    He can harm us none.
    He’s judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.

Text: Public domain

Friday, February 7, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: The Best Is Yet To Come

Psa. 71:17       O God, from my youth you have taught me,

                        and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

18        So even to old age and gray hairs,

                        O God, do not forsake me,

             until I proclaim your might to another generation,

                        your power to all those to come.

19        Your righteousness, O God,

                        reaches the high heavens.

             You who have done great things,

                        O God, who is like you?

20        You who have made me see many troubles and calamities

                        will revive me again;

             from the depths of the earth

                        you will bring me up again.

21        You will increase my greatness

                        and comfort me again.

            Yup. The older we get the more we experience life—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Those who have been around the block a number of times have gained wisdom through all these experiences.

            I’ve met many people who have been around the block and are bitter. And I’ve met many people who have been around the block who, though having gone through very tough times, remain thankful to God for having Jesus in their life. In fact, a common confession that I often hear is, “I don’t know how people can go through life without Jesus.”

            This is what the Psalmist says in so many words. It’s very easy to become bitter with life, with others, and sometimes with ourselves. However, the Christian looks forward. He knows the best is yet to come. The Christian’s view of life begins at the cross and the empty Easter tomb. There is where the unholy trinity of sin, death, and the devil have been completely defeated.

            The older a Christian gets, the more he sees the grace and mercy of God who sees him through thick and thin. The Christian believes that, no matter what may come his way, the best is yet to come because the best will happen when Jesus returns on the last day.

            Until that time older Christians have a lot of valuable wisdom to share with the younger generation of Christians. The older ones have been through the wilderness of life and have experienced God’s grace and presence. The younger Christians are truly open to hearing about these things because they want to know how God works in the life of Christians. Who better to hear this from than from older Christians who have been through these things—who have been around the block with God? This is what the aged Psalmist does; he proclaims God’s might and goodness to the next generation. That’s because the older Christians can look back on a long trail of trust in God.

            For those of you who are older Christians (remember that fine wine is aged wine!), who do you know who are younger in church or your daily circles who could benefit from your experiences with God in your life? For those who are younger Christians, tap into the lives and experiences of older Christians so that you too may see how God works.

            As you go around the block with God, the best is still to come!

656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

4     The Word they still shall let remain
    Nor any thanks have for it;
He’s by our side upon the plain
    With His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life,
Goods, fame, child, and wife,
    Though these all be gone,
    Our vict’ry has been won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.

Text: Public domain

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: Praise Him All Along The Way

Psa. 71:22       I will also praise you with the harp

                        for your faithfulness, O my God;

             I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

                        O Holy One of Israel.

23        My lips will shout for joy,

                        when I sing praises to you;

                        my soul also, which you have redeemed.

24        And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

             for they have been put to shame and disappointed

                        who sought to do me hurt.

            As with verse 13, so too with verse 24b. This is not a vindictive wish upon the enemies. The Psalmist is not showing a malicious ill will and a desire to hurt or despise his enemies. Rather, God’s faithfulness to the Psalmist will be played out by God.

            The Christian lives each day in the faithfulness of God as demonstrated in the cross. God is not just any god; He is my God. He is the Holy One Whose holiness continues to work and fill this world. He is the Holy One who has claimed you and given you the rights and privileges that go along with living in His Kingdom which has no end. And God has made you a part of His eternal grand plan through faith in His Holy Son, Jesus.

            The older we get, the more we go around the block. Regardless of our age, it’s merely a blink of an eye to God. He’s been around the block since the beginning of eternity. The devil will try to convince us otherwise, but he’s only been around the block since the beginning of time, not the beginning of eternity.

            Continue to trust God in any and all situations. God goes around the block with you every step of the way as the best is yet to come.

[1] H. C. Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1959), 514.

Psalm 85 Christmas in July!

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Psalm 85 is the appointed Psalm for the week in the Christian Church. Yes. It’s July, but Psalm 85 points to Bethlehem’s Manger and the Christ Child.

 
Christmas & Land?
Psalm 85:1-3
1          LORD, you were favorable to your land;
                        you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2          You forgave the iniquity of your people;
                        you covered all their sin. Selah
3          You withdrew all your wrath;
                        you turned from your hot anger.
 
   The Thanksgiving dinner is finished. The guests have gone home. Family members from out of town remain to help consume the remainder of the turkey. Ohhhh! There’re are thousands of turkey recipes just for this time of the year.
   The next week, Thanksgiving gives way to Christmas. What are some of the first things you think about as the Christmas seaon approaches: getting the rest of the decorations up, where will you get the tree, who’s on my gift-giving list that I haven’t shopped for, what are the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals? There’s so much to think about as we get ready for Christmas.
   And of course, the very first think everyone thinks about is—LAND. “What??!! That came out of left field Pastor. What does land have to do with Christmas?” Well, I’m glad you asked.
   In Psalm 85:1 the psalmist bases his prayer on God’s promises and His faithfulness. Note he begins with you were favorable to your land. Land theology is important in the Bible, but it’s not something we consider or really think about at all, especially during Christmas.
   Humanity is intricately linked to the land. In Creation God created water and land. He created the ground. From the ground God created Adam, and from Adam God created Eve. Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing, a Lutheran Old Testament theologian and scholar, has written a wonderful excursus (article) on land theology and it’s importance to the Christian. This excursus can be found in Lessing’s commentary on Amos from Concordia Publishing House. Lessing writes this:
 
   The Hebrew “Adam, mankind” (אָדָם) comes from the noun for “ground” (אֲדָמָה). The two are linked to each other in life, in death, and at the resurrection. After death the body decomposes into the dust of the earth until the bodily resurrection when “the earth will give birth to the dead” (Is 26:19; cf. Rev 20:13) and those “sleeping in the dusty ground” shall awake and be physically raised—believers to everlasting life and unbelievers to everlasting contempt (Dan 12:2–3).
   The tragic result of Adam and Eve’s sin was that the ground brought forth thorns and thistles (Gen 3:17–18). Death came to our first parents and through them to all humanity. Death also came to animals and plants—all living creatures. As a result of rampant sin, the world was inundated by a flood (Genesis 6–8) that killed most of humanity and most of its animals. Sodom and Gomorrah became an ecological disaster because of human wickedness and the sexual perversion of homosexuality (Gen 13:10–13; 19:24–28). The plagues were disruptions in the created order that God caused in Egypt as part of his plan to save his people from slavery under Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt (Exodus 7–11) so that he could lead his redeemed people into the promised land. Prophets repeatedly link human sin with cosmic destruction (e.g., Jer 4:22–26; Hos 4:1–3) and also promise the new heavens and new earth that is the inheritance of all God’s faithful servants (Isaiah 11; 65–66).[1]
 
   The Christian awaits the time when the heavens (stars, universe, plants, etc.) and earth will be renewed. We wait for the time when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the cow and the bear will graze together (Isaiah 11). This will take place on land. In Isaiah 35 we also hear that there will be a reverse of the curse upon the land: the wilderness and dry land will rejoice, the desert will blossom abundantly, waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert, and so forth. The land is really important to God because He made it, and it belongs to Him.
   The first Adam blew it. What’s needed is another Adam, the second Adam, another One from the earth, but without sin. That One is the Christ child (Romans 5:14; 1Corinthians 15:22, 45).
   God incorporates you into the second Adam, the last Adam, Jesus. In Christ, God makes you a part of His new creation. This is something to ponder, but don’t wait until Christmas to do it!
 


[1] R. Reed Lessing, Amos, Concordia Commentary (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 74.

Psalm 123 A Lament of Scorn & Contempt

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Lament of Derision & Contempt

            Derision & Contempt. This is the main theme of Psalm 123. What is derision and contempt? In short, it’s bullying.

No one likes bullying except for the one who is doing the bullying. If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of bullying, it’s not pleasant at all. One is made to feel quite small and insignificant in the eyes of those who are participating in it, or in the eyes of those watching on the sidelines—and they’re not doing anything about it!

Our sixteenth president, President Abraham Lincoln, experienced his share of derision and contempt. In political cartoons of the day Lincoln was portrayed as unrefined, awkward, and backwoods in appearance. This reinforced the image of him as an unpolished ‘country bumpkin.’

 History knows him as ‘Honest Abe.’ However, during his time people called him ‘Honest Ape’ to portray Lincoln as a simple-minded and unsophisticated man.

Lincoln was accused as being a tyrant, violating civil liberties, and waging an unnecessary war by Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War.

Opponents ridiculed Lincoln’s physical appearance calling him ugly and awkward. Opponents didn’t think he was fit for the presidency because of his humble origins and his education was that of being self-taught.

            The media of the day also had their agendas and took shots at Lincoln as well. The New York World and other Democrat-leaning papers attacked his policies and leadership style. The Chicago Times called Lincoln ‘silly, flat, and dishwatery.’

            President Lincoln could have caved under any one of these acts of derision and contempt against him. However, Lincoln had resolve when he faced fierce attacks from opponents. President Lincoln is now one of our country’s most celebrated presidents.

            Psalm 123 is a psalm of lament because of derision and contempt against God’s people because of their faith in Yhwh. When facing the fierce attacks of enemies and opponents, where do His people turn? They turn to the LORD Who is enthroned high above. And so do we.

Readings for the Week of Proper 9B: Ezekiel 2:1-5, Psalm 123, 2Corinthians 12:1-10, Mark 6:1-13

Collect of the Week (prayer for the week): O God, Your almighty power is made known chiefly in showing mercy. Grant us the fullness of Your grace that we may be called to repentance and made partakers of Your heavenly treasures; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Monday, July 8, 2024

First Things First: Take Off The Blinders

Psa. 123:1       To you I lift up my eyes,

            When we hear about ‘blinders’ we usually think about horses and horse-racing. Blinders are used in horse-racing and carriages to keep the animal focused on what’s ahead of him. The blinders are used to eliminate any distractions around him so that the animal’s focus is on what’s ahead of him.

            Did you know that you can purchase blinders for yourself too? Yup. You can, as seen below. However, every human being comes with a set of invisible blinders. It’s called sin. The blinders of sin keep our focus and attention on what we want to see while blocking out other realities that surround us. This is true, especially to the reality of God in this world. We want to focus on what’s best for ‘me,’ ignoring those who surround me. We want to focus on what’s best for ‘me,’ while ignoring and rejecting God’s word and law in this life. ‘Hey, if I don’t see it then it doesn’t exist.’

            The problem is that when a person continues to wear the blinders of sin, s/he blocks out the reality of God’s love and what He wants for us. Ezekiel was called to proclaim God’s future that His judgment would come upon them if they didn’t remove their blinders. Their eyes needed to be opened, but they refused to remove the blinders.

            Psalm 123 begins with ‘to You I lift up my eyes.’ This psalm is prayed from the posture of a person whose blinders have been removed by God. The Christian sees his sin. The Christian knows her standing before God and what we truly deserve because of it. We cannot live a good enough life to gain God’s favor. When the blinders are removed, we also see what was blocked out because of them. We actually see God’s love for the world—God’s love for you—because now we see the cross of Jesus. The Christian, along with the Psalmist, can sing out this Psalm. In the words of the beloved old Christian hymn How Great Thou Art:

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
    Consider all the works Thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
    Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed; Refrain

ref         Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
    How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
    How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

God’s love for you has always been there. It’s just that the blinders needed to be removed first to see it.