As our world grapples with war, oppression and loss, Psalm 31:9-16 feels particularly timely. The writer’s eye is “consumed with sorrow” and pangs of grief plague his throat and stomach. Feeling “useless as a broken pot,” he cries out to God for help.
The feeling of your stomach dropping when you receive bad news, the heaviness of a lump in your throat, and the daily exhaustion of grief are universal. So too is the comfort that God provides when we bring our burdens to Him. As the psalmist pens, God will make His face shine upon us and He will save us in his loving-kindness. This doesn’t mean that the lumps in our throats will instantly disappear: God doesn’t assure us a life without the raw human experience of pain and loss. God promises something even better—the comfort of His presence in seasons of sorrow and a true peace that surpasses all understanding.
Lent—especially Good Friday—reminds us that God experienced loss so that He can be fully with us. When we grieve, He grieves with us. In this season, we move from darkness to light, and from sorrow to joy. Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Lauren Moriarty
Links to the appointed readings and prayer for today:
