Tuesday,
February 23, 2021
I
cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that
God would listen to me! When
I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul
was not comforted. I think of
God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help. Interlude
You don’t let me sleep. I am too
distressed even to pray! I
think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were
filled with joyful songs. I search my
soul and ponder the difference now. Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his
compassion? Interlude
And I said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against
me.” But then I recall all
you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty
works. O God, your ways are
holy. Is there any god as mighty as you?
You are the God of great
wonders! You demonstrate your awesome
power among the nations. By
your strong arm, you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and
Joseph. Interlude
When the Red Sea saw you, O God, its waters looked and trembled! The sea quaked to its very depths. The clouds poured down rain; the thunder rumbled in the sky. Your arrows of lightning flashed. Your thunder roared from the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world! The earth trembled and shook. Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there! You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds. Psalm 77:1-20
“Has
God forgotten to be gracious?” If the
Psalmist is anything like Russell, as
soon as those words dropped from his pen to the paper, he wished he’d never
thought it. Even now I have trouble
asking a question like that. But Scripture
and the gracious character of God always invite us to ask the hard questions.
Asking
those “hard” questions is almost a natural response during hard times, and
nothing about this decade of the 20’s is starting-off
anything but hard! The 20th
century had its’ roaring twenties, the 21st
century has a meek meow of COVID-19 and economic distress. Amid the pain, separation, frustration and unanswered
questions and prayers, the uneasy suspicion that lingers in the middle of sleepless
nights is: where is this God who
is supposed to answer our call for help?
The
easy, or quick answer: you’re not
asking the right questions, or, say ‘please’, or say
it right, not wrong, or wait…. These are all easy to roll off the lips, and
have some truth. We do ask selfishly, or
out of God’s will; we sometimes ask, as if in demanding; we ask without
willingness to hear, or be patient.
The hard
answer, (hard to hear, accept, or hold onto), is that we might be praying
without repentance. We just might be
calling for justice, as if we’re innocent and deserving of better than what we’ve
got. In the court system you can plead to
charges in one of two basic ways: guilty
or innocent. When you plead “innocent”
it amounts to saying you have not transgressed the law. You’re asking for justice which is reserved
for those who have completely obeyed. The
other possibility is pleading guilty and throwing oneself on the mercy of the
court.
Because
our system of jurisprudence is largely based upon the Law,
as found in Holy Scripture (e.g. Deuteronomy, Leviticus), we also find our
answer in Heaven’s courts. Scripture,
from Genesis to Revelation tells the story, our story, and
how there is not a “righteous” person (read that: without guilt) in the
universe[1]. The only possibility for expecting an answer
from Heaven requires confession with repentance. Frankly, given how alien that thought is in
21st century culture, is it any surprise that Heaven is silent to
the questions we ask, or the so-called prayers we offer (which are, more
accurately, thinly-veiled demands for justice)?
If the “hard
answer” is indeed hard to hear, accept, and hold – good! This is not a time for easy answers. So, let’s play big boy
and big girl, and get real.
Here’s
how:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
For You Today
That God who is gracious…he’s just waiting for real!
[1] Title Image:
Courtesy of Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
No comments:
Post a Comment