mavrokefalooWhy are you so downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
For yet I will praise him,
My Savior and my God. (Psalm 43:5)
The world right now is overwhelming. Everything you see, everything you hear. I heard that in NYC they are setting up makeshift morgues. I heard that in Memphis the worst case scenario is 8k dead in that city alone, with 1.8k a moderate expectation. I hear that there aren’t enough beds to accommodate the sick. I hear that there isn’t enough PPE to equip healthcare workers to care for the sick. I hear that I need to stay six feet apart, wash my hands, not touch my face, wipe down packages, wash clothes after being out, stay home as much as possible…unless I want to be sick too and get others sick.
I walked downtown today. That’s allowable still. Stores are still offering curbside. And what I saw was a ghost town. It made me want to cry as I saw pink flowering tree petals gathering against buildings and a gorgeous Guthrie Green – empty apart from a few stragglers like me. But even the stragglers hardly will look at one another – as though by looking or speaking we will get sick. I went in a grocery store a few days ago, and the atmosphere was thick with fear.
It was hard to be there and not be fearful myself.
And I don’t want to sound ungrateful for these measures. On the contrary, I think they are needed. I really do. And I am doing all I can to follow them. But, I also think that in the midst of this we would be remiss not to do two important things:
Grieve and Praise
I know that sounds crazy, but isn’t that the upside down Kingdom we are a part of? Grief and praise do go hand in hand! If we praise without checking in with our hearts and being real and vulnerable, then our praise is shallow and empty. If we grieve without praising then we are living without hope and trust in our good Father and Jesus’ promises.
I think about the psalmist David and how he was a man after God’s own heart. What did he do? He recognized the anguish in his soul and then he flung himself full force into worship and praise with all that he had. Because his hope wasn’t in his own horses and chariots. Because when he was in a miry pit, only God could and would get him out. Because he wasn’t judged by his trespasses but by loving mercy. Because his broken heart had been healed. Because he had been made to be able to scale a mountain. The list goes on.
I think about Paul and Silas – thrown in prison for Paul casting a demon out of a girl who followed him for days. And they praised! They prayed and sang praises and the earth shook and they were set free. And the first thing they did was share the Good News – because He’s good, always, and in all circumstances.
And I think of Romans 12 where Paul says not to be conformed to the pattern of the world anymore, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and 2 Corinthians 10 where we are told to bring our thoughts into obedience to Christ Jesus.
As I think about these things I envision sitting alone with this cloud of news and warnings and tragedy swirling around me, trying to penetrate my soul with panic and hopelessness, with pictures of family that I can’t get to and resources running dry…but on the inside is this gentle peace, radiating throughout me and a soft voice whispering “be still and know that I am God.” He’s the Everlasting, the beginning and the end, Sovereign over all, and HE LOVES US. When everything changes, He doesn’t! When nothing is stable or sure, He and His Love are!
So, fellow citizens of Heaven, dear brothers and sisters, co-laborers together with me and with Christ, what do we do? What do we do when we can’t walk up to someone and ask to pray for them? What do we do when our parents can’t see our kids? What do we do when we are lonely and everything looks dark? What do we do when we lose our jobs? What do we do when the eggs and bread and chicken and hand sanitizer and toilet paper and vitamin C run out? What do we do?
We fling ourselves into worship. We cry and we pray and we trust Him with all that we’ve got. We sing at the top of our lungs on our porch, even if it feels weird. We smile at and talk with strangers (and all people) 6 feet apart. We don’t hide that this is hard – who are we kidding?
Yet we will praise Him, our Lord, our Savior, our only hope, our sure foundation, our Portion, our Refuge…
Yet I Will Praise You.
