Wesley Church

People Blessing People

Devotional October 22

23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?     
     Awake, do not cast us off forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
     Why do you forget our affliction and oppression
25 For we sink down to the dust;
     our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up, come to our help.
     Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.

-Psalm 44:23-26, NRSV

    It was dark in the sanctuary. It was well after sunset, and none of the interior lights were on… so the only light in the space was the outdoor flood light shining through the stained glass windows. The only light in the space was the outdoor flood light shining through… well, shining through Jesus.

It was dark in the sanctuary. It was well after sunset, and none of the interior lights were on… so the only light in the space was the outdoor flood light shining through the stained glass windows. The only light in the space was the outdoor flood light shining through… well, shining through Jesus. 

So I stopped in the aisle. Face-to-face with Jesus (even in glass form) is as good a time as any to pray, so I prayed. 

It was a short prayer. “COVID is really starting to wear,” I said. “Can’t you come down here and do something about it? What’s it going to take? What’s taking so long? Oh, and… amen.” Not the loftiest or loveliest of prayers, but at least I was honest. 

I’m sure I’m not the first to pray that sort of prayer in this season of covid-tide. I’m certainly not the first to pray that sort of prayer in the story of God’s people. There’s a prayer much like it in the words of the psalm for today. Essentially, the psalmist is saying: Can’t you come down here and do something about this? What’s it going to take? What’s taking so long?

I don’t know how God will respond to my prayer. Oh, I could say all kinds of weighty theological things about how perfect God’s timing is or how mysterious God’s plan is… but to be honest, I’m not sure how truly comforting any of that is. Not in the face of a “What’s taking so long?” kind of prayer. 

I do take some comfort, though, in knowing I’m not the first to pray this kind of prayer. I do take comfort in knowing the psalmist, too, has cried out “How long?!?” I do take comfort in being able to pray right along with the psalmist: “Rise up, come to our help!” (Psalm 44:26, NRSV). 

And I do take comfort in knowing that God hears us both — the psalmist and me — even if God doesn’t necessarily do what I ask.

Blessings,
Pastor Candy

So pray your honest prayers today, friends, knowing God hears you too… and remember:

Our God is bigger than coronavirus. 
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too. 
We are people blessing people. 
We are Wesley Church.   

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