Psalm 85:11-12
Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced. Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven.
“Bless the Lord oh my soul…
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I’ll worship your holy name.”
Holy One to whom I raise my arms and pour out all my deepest darkest human secrets, I come before you to send a prayer for our world. Where do I find these words when everything good seems forsaken? The people near and dear to me are angry. To pray for a world seems hopeless if we cannot pray for ourselves to first want to be a part of this whole. We need grace at our most cellular level. We need healing. We need love. We need compassion and empathy. We need it in our very core if we are to be better versions of ourselves. Is it so selfish to pray for me verses all?
“The sun comes up
It’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes”
Brightest Light in every sky above, hold me while I shed these tears of grief. I am beaten down and I am weary. So many of us are sick with disease and various flus and viruses. We bury our loved ones as they give up personal health battles. We hug our children as they are afraid to go outside. And yet, we face the world as if everything is fine. Fine? When did we normalize this version of “fine?” Nothing could be less fine.
This world is crumbling. Perhaps this is the only way? I look outside my façade of a safety zone to see just some of the following headlines across the world… We pray for your mercy in all ways and in all places. Just to mention a few:
- Devastation continues in Gaza;
- Gang violence in Haiti;
- Sexual violence against women in India;
- Unrest in the United States as [we] head into a November presidential election;
- France makes history by enshrining abortion rights in its constitution;
- World on brink of fourth mass coral reef bleaching event, according to NOAA;
- And so much more….
It is a scary world out there, Lord. But just as we see so many awful things around us, you remind us to look deeper. To see the meaning of life as it renews with a sense of hope and vitality. To see the first flowers of spring. To listen to the birds as they sing their songs and build nests for the arrival of their babies. Those moments when we feel the warmth of spirit’s touch upon the shoulder. We are never alone with you by our side.
“Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship your holy name
And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing your praise unending
10, 000 years and then forever more.”
Song lyrics from 10,000 Reasons (“Bless the Lord” Song by Matt Redman and Steve Angrisano)
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