Psalm Meditation 1082 Fourth Sunday in Lent March 14, 2021 Psalm 142 1 With my voice I cry to the Lord; with my voice I make supplication to the Lord. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 3 When my spirit is faint, you know my way. In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 4 Look on my right hand and see—there is no one who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for me. 5 I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 6 Give heed to my cry, for I am brought very low. Save me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. 7 Bring me out of prison, so that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. (NRSV) When we are deeply troubled we get the feeling that we are the only ones who feel this way, that no one notices the pain we are experiencing, that no one sees us. We may even include God among those who has forgotten we exist. While we may think we have hidden our pain, it is more likely that we have turned so far inward that we have cut ourselves off from those who would love to help us. The psalmist is aware that the presence of God is a safe place in times of trial. At the same time, the psalmist is unable to find where God is. It is akin to the times in which we are searching so frantically for something that we look right past it multiple times before actually finding it. The psalmist is so focused on the isolation of this particular experience that finding God becomes as impossible as finding that object this is right in front of us. Knowing that God is our refuge is one thing, being able to find God in times of trouble is quite another. What seems to work best in times like these is to stop, wait, and allow ourselves to become open to being found. God is not off somewhere searching for us or someone else, God is waiting for us to discover that we are already within the comforting refuge of God’s abiding presence. March 8, 2021 LCM