Making Haste
Have you ever felt truly alone?
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; do not punish me in your wrath. For your arrows have already pierced me, and your hand presses hard upon me. There is no health in my flesh, because of your indignation; there is no soundness in my body, because of my sin. For my iniquities overwhelm me; like a heavy burden they are too much for me to bear. My wounds stink and fester by reason of my foolishness. I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; I go about in mourning all the day long. My loins are filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am utterly numb and crushed; I wail, because of the groaning of my heart. O Lord, you know all my desires, and my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart is pounding, my strength has failed me, and the brightness of my eyes is gone from me. My friends and companions draw back from my affliction; my neighbors stand afar off. Those who seek after my life lay snares for me; those who strive to hurt me speak of my ruin and plot treachery all the day long. But I am like the deaf who do not hear, like those who are mute and who do not open their mouth. I have become like one who does not hear and from whose mouth comes no defense. For in you, O Lord, have I fixed my hope; you will answer me, O Lord my God. For I said, "Do not let them rejoice at my expense, those who gloat over me when my foot slips." Truly, I am on the verge of falling, and my pain is always with me. I will confess my iniquity and be sorry for my sin. Those who are my enemies without cause are mighty, and many in number are those who wrongfully hate me. Those who repay evil for good slander me, because I follow the course that is right. O Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. Make haste to help me, O Lord of my salvation. - Psalm 38
Today's reading is a prayer, a plea to God for help. Do not abandon me, the psalmist prays.
Sometimes life throws us a curve ball. We get knocked down, or we get news that pops the bubble of hope we were carrying around with us, and we start to lose faith.
That is when we turn to God for help.
We don't think of doing that when all is going well, do we? Perhaps we feel God is always there at those times, guiding and helping us stay the course and we are confident He has our backs.
But then things change. Someone or something shatters the pretty picture that is our life perception and suddenly we feel abandoned by God.
Where are you?
When we turn our attention inward, we sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture. We feel everyone sees how sad and helpless we are.
So, here, the psalmist has decided it is time to cry out for God. Make haste to help me, he says.
What can we do when we see a friend, a loved one go through this?
We cannot say that everything will be alright, because we don't know, and they won't believe us.
Maybe all we can do is hold a hand and pray with them.
God, make haste to help us, for we are in this together. We are not alone.
More to come...