Facing Death, Darkness, and Despair

God of Peace, I offer You my worries, I bring You my brokenness, and I surrender my striving. As I rest in Your presence, I receive Your peace.

I pause and pray...

Today, I am reflecting on the words of a psalmist who was not afraid to face the darkness of death, and to sit with the reality of sorrow, without feeling the need to lighten the tone and bring a superficial resolution to his pain.

(Read: Psalm 88:1-5, 15, 18)

Few families have escaped the COVID pandemic entirely untouched by grief. Beloved grandparents passed away alone in care homes. Fathers died before their time; mothers still suffer from long-term effects of the disease.

Today’s psalm is a lament to heal my troubled soul. If I am to experience the joy of Easter Sunday, I must first stand at the foot of the cross and wait in the darkness of Holy Saturday. I cannot avoid sorrow and grief, for it comes to everyone who loves.

What sorrow or grief am I carrying? Is there sadness or trauma which I have not processed?

I pause and pray...

I think of someone I know who has lost a loved one recently.

Lord, would You bring healing to their wounded heart? Be to them "a very present help in trouble."

I pause and pray...

Trouble rarely comes at a convenient time. When crises arrive, bringing grief and pain, they are often overwhelming, just as they were for this psalmist. From this, I take comfort.

I pause and pray...

Lord, I yield myself to the darkness of unknowing. Help me to let go of my need to always understand everything and see my path clearly before I put my whole trust in You. Amen.