The Wait

Wind colder than the day before swarmed into the shallow mountain cavern/and bit at the exposed skin on the back of Mior’s neck that she hadn’t been/able to cover with her cloak. She shivered, readjusted the cloak, then clasped her/hands together to finish her prayer..Footsteps scratched the rock at the entrance. The stench of a Karith swelled into/the cavern. Mior froze, cold sweat dripping down her back..A girl her age stepped into view, sword gripped tightly in her hand. The scent of the Karith invaders clung to her clothes, and blood stained her shoulder and sword arm, though it was too dark for Mior to tell if it was red or purple..Mior relaxed and gave a nod to the girl as she entered. Zeela. Find anything?.Corpses. Empty orchards. Karithgot ambushed by one inside town. Zeela/sheathed the blade and grabbed a withered apple from their pitiful mound of food. She narrowed her eyes at Mior. What were you doing? Praying to your precious Lord again?.Mior realized her hands were still clasped. We need His help..Zeela scoffed. You think He’ll come? You’ve been asking for months now. He/cares nothing for us..He/died/for us. Of course He cares!.Then where is He?,Mior dropped her gaze..Whatever. I’m going back out. Zeela took a bite of the apple, spun on her heel, and slipped out of the cave..Mior drew the cloak tighter around her shoulders. You’re still there, aren’t You? she whispered into the empty darkness. Howling wind and the distant, awful scream of a Karith was the only response. Then someone else screameda villageronly to be abruptly cut off. A moment later, the Karith screamed again,/this time in the voice of its recent kill..Mior sank her head onto her knees and shivered. I don’t know if You’re listening. But I’ll keep asking anyway. Please come./ Linnae Conkel. Today’s story is an allegory. Sometimes, it seems like God has gone silent and is ignoring our prayers. Can you think of a time you felt this way? Are you in a time of waiting right now? . Reread Psalm 13. How did David, the author of this psalm, respond when it seemed like God was silent? . Although it may not make sense to us, God still loves us despite times when He seems to be silent. How can remembering the overwhelming love He has for usa love so great that He came to live among us, die for/us, and rise from the grave all so that we could live with Him foreverhelp us cling to hope during the wait?/(Hebrews 10:23) . Even as we wait for Jesus to return bodily to earth and make all things new, we can rest in His promise,/Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). We can be confident that He will/keep His promise because He sealed it through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave. Even if He seems silent, we can know that Jesus sits beside us and weeps with us over our hurts and over the brokenness of His creation. How can remembering Jesus’s compassion give us comfort in times of fear and pain? How can we help remind each other of Jesus’s compassion and presence?/.But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. Psalm 13:5 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Psalm 13; Psalm 34:15; Romans 5:5