A Psalm for a Pandemic

O Lord, have mercy on us as we endure this year we did not foresee.

At the first sign of trouble, we rose to the challenge, we united, we cried out to You with one voice and we placed our hope in a quick remedy.

Now, we confess we’re short-sighted, impatient, low on stamina, and that our unity has unraveled as quickly as it appeared. But You, O Lord, created us. You know our bent. You’re aware of our limits. You know our only hope of lasting unity is in Christ.

We are crushed beneath the weight of the losses that climb – loss of life, of careers, of financial stability, of safety, of normalcy, freedom, of congregate worship, of trust in one another, of the privilege of gathering with loved ones as they part this world. We are hard-pressed and at risk of losing heart. If not for Jesus, we would surely lose hope, and yet He lives and so we hold on, as we wait for You.

How long, O Lord, how long must we endure – not only this virus – which we have more hope of curing than the other plague that has infected us – that of discord, discontent, disagreement, disregard, disputing, and disheartenment that is ravaging my people?

Our hearts cry out to You in the morning, weary You with sighs at noon, and groan into the darkness for deliverance from these times. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come.

Yet we know you are not slow, but You love better than we do. You are patient, wanting for none to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

So, we sense Your spirit prodding us to pray beyond the pandemic, to pray beyond the headlines, to come away with You into a desolate place and return to Your agenda, to Your direction, to Your breaking news.

The time of Your coming weighs on our souls as we consider all who continue to deny You, to suppress the truth with their unrighteousness, or who wander in darkness almost forgetting there is the hope of light.

And that is when we remember there is a greater call on our lives than the story of this moment. There is a greater story being told than any single headline of the day. There is a greater task at hand than requesting relief.

We who hold the truth of eternity within our very souls, the cure for the sinfulness of humanity, the hope for life in a culture of death, the blood of Christ that secures our freedom in this life and the next – we turn our eyes to You and in You we rise with strength to run with horses and to outlast the hardship of these days.

Renew our hearts within us. Lighten the burden of our souls. In these heavy times, show us Your easy yoke that we may endure.

Even as our culture enters the throes of death, yet within us, You are bringing life.

Even as the air grows heavy with deception, yet within us, the truth prevails and presses us to speak it out no matter the cost.

Even as darkness descends with a relentless hunger to consume unwitting souls, yet within us, the light of Christ bursts forth and shines and overcomes.

Now we remember, O Lord, that while our humanity is pressed down by the weight of these days, yet greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world.

And with that hope our spirits rise. And in that hope, we renew our commitment to represent You well, to speak truth, and to deliver love that testifies to our citizenship in the eternal kingdom on this outpost of glory.

We praise You that as You walked with those who came before us through fire, flood, and fury, so You walk with us through pandemics, politics, and polemics.

You assigned us to these times and designed us for these times. We are equipped in Christ for every good work – even here, even now – this we reaffirm today and will reaffirm tomorrow.

Silence all voices in our hearts and minds that do not speak Your truth into our weariness, our doubts, our fears.

We are Yours, O Lord, and all that matters now is that You are the final Word on our lives and that word is that we persevere and prevail in You.

A #Psalm for a Pandemic https://t.co/jJi1Ck0mBO #amwriting #pandemic

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) July 21, 2020