Thanks

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
  let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
  and extol him with music and song. (Psalm 95:1-2)

Clouds over Grovetown, GA

This afternoon I watch the rain pouring outside my window. I think about those who are suffering in Haiti, in Afghanistan, in Chicago, in our own hospitals. So many dying or dead. So many hurting and broken. So much pain. So much suffering.

And we as a country are sick in our souls. Tribalism has blinded us. We all think we are right and our opponents are evil. There is no peace.

It is hard to feel thankful at these times. It seems like the whole world is dark, literally and figuratively.

Of course, I'm thankful for good health, a relatively calm life, financial stability, and such. Of course. But it all seems so insignificant in the face of a groaning and hopeless world.

As I read the words of the psalmist, I can't help but think that they seem so out of place. They don't fit into the shape my brain has set out for them. My heart wants verses of lament, grief, crying out.

But today's word is "Thanks," and this is the verse I found. And I am reminded ...

Even in the darkness, we can come before him with thanksgiving.

Even when we feel words are pointless, we can shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Even when we feel tuneless, we can sing for joy to the Lord and extol him with music and song.

Even when it seems everything is unraveling, we can remind ourselves that he is in control. That there is a bigger picture we can't see. That even though we can't see around the corners, he can.

I want to end this blog post on a hopeful note, but that last paragraph is just about as hopeful as I can get right now. I do believe that he is in control. With all my heart I believe that. And I don't particularly think "making our earthly lives easier" is on his to-do list today. Or ever.

I do know he loves us, because he is love. I know that Jesus died so that the kind of evil we are seeing today does not ultimately prevail. And for that I am thankful.