God who sees me,
You are omniscient and omnipotent and yet you see my trials and my struggles. You walk with me and I lean on you. You hear me when I call. You listen when I open my heart to You.
But what of the countless others whose trials and struggles are not shared with you. They bear their struggles on their own and it is too much for them.
They strike out at all of civilization.
They misplace their humanity which binds us together.
They take up a cloak of abject fear and desperation. They wrap this cloak around themselves so tightly, then bind themselves in with lies, conspiracy theories, sickness, and death.
It is a web they cannot break out of on their own.
When will you come to their aid?
They fall into a dark pit.
We watch from above. We have our own fears and despondency.
Some of us lean over the edge or make their way carefully into the pit. They put on PPE - brand new as they descend, tattered and worn as time passes.
Each time they descend, it is harder and harder.
Their souls battered; their hearts bruised; their bodies weary.
We watch from the outside. We have our own fears and despondency.
Some of us turn our backs feeling safe in a cocoon of our own making. Ordering our world with the pit at our backs or in the periphery of our vision.
Refusing to witness and refusing to live by your command to love one another as you love us.
For, to refuse to witness means to refuse to be seen at your own lowest point or when you are in the pit.
Look up and you see that you are only on a higher ledge in the pit.
There is no us and them; there is only us.
We watch from above. We have our own fears and despondency.
Some of us stand back from the edge but face the pit. We expect others to do the hard work of descending or looking over the edge of the pit.
We listen to what others tell us through our filters of sin. Some turn one way; some turn the opposite direction. We move apart; putting as much distance as possible between us.
Then we turn to the other group and shout at each other. We shout louder and louder, wanting our viewpoint to dominate.
We’ve forgotten the only viewpoint that matters is God’s, even while praying “God’s will be done”.
God who sees me,
Show us the way out. Lead us to a place of true peace, a place of true love. Stop us from digging ever deeper pits.
We know Your past deeds; You have saved us time and time again.
From the time of Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and David, You have demonstrated Your love for us. Even in Jeremiah’s time, You saved a remnant; not for their own sake, but to fulfil Your promise to their ancestors. You sent Your Son to us; a living example of Your great love for us.
We know the mighty power of Your right hand.
Raise your right hand and let Your will be done.
by Erin Sorrels
Deacon at First Presbyterian Church - Bartlesville
(This lament is offered as a follow-up in an ongoing series about lament in the church.)