Psalm Meditation 901
Proper 20
September 24, 2017

Psalm 77
1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah
4 You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old, and remember the years of long ago.
6 I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love ceased forever? Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
10 And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD; I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples.
15 With your strong arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
(NRSV)

Sometimes we feel abandoned and forsaken, believing that we are the only ones who have ever felt so separated from God. And at night it seems to get worse. In the darkness hope seems to dissipate and even disappear leaving us with the worst of our feelings and options. We may cry out to God even though we know that we are out of even God’s range of hearing. The oppressive weight of negativity presses down on us and we wonder if we will ever be able to feel anything but terrible.

Somehow, sleep comes, if only for a moment. In that moment we find a different perspective, a different focus for our nighttime musings. We begin to focus on what God has done in the past. God has provided and offered redemption to people who have wandered away in search of greener pastures, easier paths, better results for lower investment. If God will choose to be with people who have made those kinds of choices, God will certainly be with us who have found ourselves in difficult, painful circumstances not entirely of our own making.

Yep, life has rough patches. And while we may get the feeling that we have been abandoned during those times, it is not the case. God is with us, waiting for us to be open to the gifts God offers to us, including the gift of presence. God sits with us, quietly accompanying us through every rough patch, through every smooth patch, through every exciting and frightening patch. God is with us, simple and complex as that.

September 18, 2017
LCM