ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 20, 2022
I knew a guy years ago who had what he called “off the farm” responses to almost everything. They were creative, and on occasion, a bit colorful. One I remember in particular was the witticism, “It feels like I fell asleep in wet concrete.” It was his way of describing that feeling of being stuck. Sometimes in life it feels as if we unknowingly fell asleep in concrete and woke up unable to move. I think about the words from Psalm 13, “How long will you forget me, LORD? Forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long…?” It is the cry of the stuck, of those who feel as if they fell asleep in wet concrete. Yet if the Psalms are any indication of God’s response, then our takeaway is that we are never left alone… even in our stuckness. I’m pretty sure that’s not a word, but it is the place where God often finds us and sits with us. Our unsticking might not happen in the way we’d like or ever imagine, but even when we feel stuck in the dark valley described in Psalm 23, we learn that there is still movement. And we can echo the words that follow, “I fear no evil, for you are with me.” Whether it is our doing or caused by someone else, or a combination of both, getting stuck can cause great hopelessness and despair. I’m not suggesting what follows will be easy or pain-free, but we have a God who specializes in responding to hopelessness and despair.
When I’m stuck and see no way out, O God, I will trust you to be present. When there appears to be no way out, and I cry out, “How long,” my faith will point me to your eternal and creative presence that was there before I even knew I was stuck. Amen.
