Journey to the Cross 
Pause
God is with us and gives us hope. When things feel heavy, and we are afraid, angry, or bewildered, God holds us close and goes with us.
Listen
How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long will I be left to my own wits, agony filling my heart? Daily? How long will my enemy keep defeating me?
Look at me! Answer me, Lord my God! Restore sight to my eyes! Otherwise, I’ll sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, “I won!” My foes will rejoice over my downfall.
But I have trusted in your faithful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. Yes, I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me.
Psalm 13:1-6
Think
The world we live in is complicated, especially where it relates to conflict. In our scripture for today, the psalmist is feeling abandoned by God in the midst of some sort of violent conflict. He aches because he cannot feel God’s presence. He worries God has forgotten him. He wants deliverance from his enemies. I wonder if we can relate. Yet I am struck by Jesus telling us repeatedly in the gospels to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. We always presume to be the persecuted, but what if we are the ones who need to be prayed for?
The world is complicated and so is our role in it as persecuted and persecutor. And so that is my lament, that we not only trust in God’s steadfast love, but find salvation in praying for those who harm us and find forgiveness in the eyes of those we harm.
Brian Foreman
Question to Ponder:
Where are you most feeling the complications of the world we live in, and what is your prayer in the middle of them?
Pray
God, I have so much to be thankful for but sometimes the chaos of current events makes me feel complicated and conflicting feelings. Help me lean on the teachings of Jesus to guide my actions in how I love your children who are neighbors and strangers. Amen.
Go
God is our salvation and hope. Our work is to bring God’s kingdom of peace by the power of love in our thoughts, words, and actions.
