Light versus Darkness

Lord, I’m so tired. I spend my day moving between grief and anger and apathy and frustration and fear, and I just end up exhausted. I want to scream and cry and sleep and hide from the world, all at the same time.

Why is this happening? Everywhere I turn, people are hurting. My heart breaks for them every day, and I feel like I can’t do anything about it.

My heart breaks for me too. I miss my friends. I miss my family. I miss my church. I miss going about my day without the weight of the pandemic crushing me. I miss the days when I could have a conversation that didn’t turn into a heated political debate within five minutes.

I miss my innocence, back before I knew the pain and injustice that happen daily. This knowledge hurts. But I guess it’s a good hurt, since it’s a hurt You feel too.

This stinks. Nothing about this is right. All of this—sickness, death, injustice, division—none of it is supposed to be here! What is it doing here, in Your good world? You created this place to be good, and it’s so, so broken. Fix it, Lord!

…I guess You will. And you’ve done it before. You’ve faithfully carried Your people through plagues, exile, famine, war, and persecution. And you’ve carried me through heartache, depression, upheaval, and many other trials.

Help me to remember that, Lord. Help me to cling to the gospel—that Jesus died for the pain, the brokenness, the hurt…and He rose to bring healing. Don’t let me forget the sure hope that You will return to set all things right. Once in a while, I catch glimpses of that healing—people recovering from sickness, small changes toward justice, and reconciling conversations. Let me see more of those. Let me make more of those. In the midst of this pain, let Your healing, reconciling presence dwell in me and flow out of me.

Or let me just rest in Your strength. I don’t have any left. • Taylor Eising

• Lament—the practice of honestly bringing your hurts before God—is a vital part of the Christian life. God knows our hurts, and, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can freely bring them to Him in prayer. Lamenting reminds us that Jesus cares about our pain, and He’s going to do something about it—either now or when He returns to make all things new. Try writing your own lament. For more examples, check out Psalm 13, 38, 42, 43, 88, or 130.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Psalm 34:18 (NLT)

Read Verses:

John 1:1-18; Ephesians 5:8-9; 1 John 1:5-9