Monday, May 4, 2020

Regaining Perspective


Monday, May 4, 2020

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!  Worship the Lord with gladness.  Come before him, singing with joy.  Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are his.  We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.  Give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.  Psalm 100:1-5

I read a sad story about a very accomplished woman who committed suicide last week.  The story was punctuated with remarks by her grieving father.  Dr. Lorna Breen, 49, died a hero, said her father, Philip Breen.  "She was in the trenches," he said. "She was a hero."[1]
As the head of emergency services Dr. Breen had certainly seen the results of more tragedy than most of us can imagine.  After contracting the COVID-19 virus she was in a weakened physical condition, and, according to the report, emotionally exhausted, perhaps contributing to her decision to end her life.  The story is so sad considering how much Dr. Breen had to offer with her training and the position of caregiving she occupied.  It is a life ended far short of the depth it promised.  Her dad called her a hero who went down into the trenches of the coronavirus war, and the enemy killed her.
Never having met Dr. Breen, and only reading the story this morning, I would be foolish to analyze anything about her death.  However, having known several people who eventually chose the same closing story to their life’s chapter, I only observe that many times such choices are precipitated by a loss of perspective on the goodness of God’s gift of life.  Despair’s hopelessness is overwhelming for some!
Despite, at times, the horribile circumstances of chance, such as the current pandemic and its associated grim outlook, just breathing in and out, holding the hand of a loved one, or watching a baby sleep can bring exhaustion’s bleak outlook back into a proper focus.  This is what the Psalmist was telling us; serve God with gladness and joy, and remember that He is good.  The simple act of praising God for His goodness and mercy is a two-fold necessity to life.  In order of priority:
1.     Praising God is fitting; it is the rightful response of creation to Creator
2.     Praising God is fulfilling; when we do that which is part of our hard-wired calling, the sense of “rightness” is like a string of dominoes falling in line, one after another.  We do the fitting thing, and the fulfillment of joy, peace, and gladness naturally flood back into perspective. 
Some things in life are simply unexplainable in why people choose what has been called a permanent solution for a temporary problem; suicide is one of them.  It is tragic, but often precipitated by conditions that are transitory, not God’s good choice for your life, no matter how difficult the circumstances have turned.  
For those who choose to end life, those they leave behind face grieving a loss that will never completely allow rest.  For the parents, family and friends of Dr. Breen’s, and the host of people she helped, and those she might have helped, we offer our heartfelt condolences and prayers for comfort.
For You Today
Let’s let the Psalmist voice our last, and hopefully strongest words today:
For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.  Psalm 100:6
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today!
Title Image:  Pixabay.com      Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For another post on Psalm 100 see Flat Tire Worship

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