In verse 10, we read that the psalmist’s adversaries ask, “Where is your God?” Hearing the news in recent months – the atrocities in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and other areas of the world, waves of people fleeing violence and poverty, the housing crisis, inflation, gas prices, supply chain issues, the impact of climate change, mass shootings one after the other – all of this may have us wondering the same thing. Where is God?
An article I read recently insisted that just because God may be quiet, that does not mean God is absent. Maybe God is speaking, but we are so busy listening to the vitriolic noise of hatred and blame in the news or on social media, we just aren’t listening. Or maybe God is quiet because God is listening to our lament. God may be quiet, but God is not absent. Therefore, we can find our hope in the future God has planned for us and trust that one day, we will praise God for bringing us through these incredibly difficult times.
How intentional are you about listening and looking for God in situations that seem hopeless? To what degree does listening and looking for God keep you grounded in hope?
In prayer, offer our world to God and spend some time in silence, listening for a word of hope.