This weekend the news was flooded with bad news. A young 18 year old traveling basketball
player was killed in a single car accident in Asheville, leaving her family and
team mates wondering why? A 23 y/o young
man was murdered in a shooting outside of an Asheville restaurant. I read of a wealthy millionaire father who
had sexually abused his step-daughter repeatedly getting off with a very light
sentence because his wealth contributed to society. ISIS continues to pervade our world with violence. Syria and Pakistan continue to fight each
other. Much like the Psalmist of Psalm10 we ask “Why do you stand so far away, Lord, hiding yourself in troubling
times?” It seems in this world where the
rich get richer and the poor get poorer that God is far off at times. There is much injustice in the world today,
just like the injustices the psalmist names here. Like the psalmist we must take our questions,
our fears and our heartache to God and work through them. When we do so we, like the psalmist will come
to this conclusion:
“Lord, you listen to the desires of
those who suffer, You steady their hearts:
you listen closely to them, to establish justice for the orphan and the
oppressed, so that people of the land will never again be terrified.”
God is present. God, in the form of the Holy Spirit,
surrounds us every day. We must call on
the name of the Lord for eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to listen and
recognize. One way to do this is to make ourselves a part of a community of
faith. Reuben Job has this to say about
living in community:
Jesus makes a dramatic and revolutionary
promise when he says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there
among them” (Matt. 18:20) this is a welcome promise to those who may wonder if
God is present in their lives or their affairs.
This is a hopeful promise for those who sometimes feel alone and
forsaken. This is an enormous assurance
for those who face the unknown and need companionship and community.[1]
Don’t try to do this
life on your own or in the bubble of your immediate family. Find or rejoin a faith community that you can
do this life with. It’s the way Jesus
prescribed life to be.
[1]
Job, Reuben “God Lives in Community” in
Shawchuck, Norman and Job, Reuben, A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God (Nashville,
Upper Room Books, 2006) 328
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