There is Hope

Hendricks Devotional pic

Psalm 102:2, 11–12 (ESV)

Do not hide your face from me 
in the day of my distress! 

My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.

But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations. 

 

Lent is a solemn time of fasting, reflection, and preparation. It is appropriate to reflect on where we need hope in our lives. Our planet is in distress. Slavery, shootings, abortion, and abuse pollute our news feeds daily. Add to it our own distress. I point to seasons in my life when I have felt weak, like recovering from surgery or childbirth. At times I’ve despaired, dealing with broken relationships and suffering family members.  

Then I thought about today. Today wasn’t particularly distressing and yet, it was full of my own inadequacy. After losing my temper with my son, I thought to myself, “Will I ever just be...well?” Not so long as I inhabit this earth. Perhaps God has given us scriptures like the first half of Psalm 102, to take comfort in the fact that we are not alone. To be human is to be in distress.  

Now that I’ve placed a storm cloud over your head, let’s consider the most important word in the whole Psalm:

But.

“But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations” (v.12). When you are in distress and everything is crumbling around you, either the Lord is on the throne or he’s not. If he is on the throne, then he is redeeming all things to himself. God will bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth (Eph 1:10). Christ is on the throne! 

As growing disciples who find ourselves in distress, we are called to model our behavior after the psalmist. He speaks honestly with God about his feelings but praises the Lord anyway. Giving God our grocery list of stressors releases us from having to deal with them alone. When we praise the Lord, we acknowledge that He reigns and is going to abolish our distress someday.  

Can you imagine life without distress? No tears, illness, hate, stress, conflict or sin? I’m in! So, “Will I be well?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” And there is hope. Think of the wonderfully boring headlines in heaven: “Another Beautiful Day. All People Safe. No Crime. Peace in the Middle East. God Still Reigns.”

 

Sarah Hendricks.JPG

 

Sarah Hendricks lives in Garland with her husband, John and three sons: Noah (6) Ezra (4) and Josiah (1).  Sarah’s current adventures are those of a homeschooling stay-at-home mom. She holds a bachelor's degree in music from Gordon College, and enjoys singing. Her other interests include dance, reading, learning new things, writing, and crocheting.  Sarah and her family started attending Trinity Fellowship Church in 2012 where they are constantly learning new truths about God’s love.