Women’s Ministry Minute
June 8, 2020
With Madlyn Stevens
This year so far has been strange, confusing, and very very heartbreaking. The upside-down state of our whole world has affected me mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. This drastic upheaval of “normal life” leaves me feeling drained, heavy, unmotivated, and downhearted. I begin to lose sight of who God is. David wrote Psalm 22 when he was at the hands of his enemies, being attacked on all sides, and at some of his lowest points. He laments to God in a very vulnerable, revealing way throughout the entire psalm. His deepest emotions about his current circumstances bubble up and he wrestles with them, works through them with God, and ends up on the other side, praising the Lord. David’s pain is obvious and deeply rooted, but still cries out to God and acknowledges his faithfulness at the same time. After each cry of anguish there is a bit of hope and an “and yet” moment. David says that he cries out for God during the day and cannot rest at night, “and yet” God is still enthroned and holy. David writes about how he is being mocked and insulted, “and yet” God gave him life and made David trust in him. A pack of villains encircle David, “and yet” God is still his strength. While terrible things are happening to David, there is still hope in the back of his mind that God will deliver him. I read this psalm in my lowest moments and am reminded of God’s character and it brings me hope that God is my “and yet.” A scripture I hold close is Exodus 34:6, which says, “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness. ‘” This is where God reveals himself to Moses and describes his own character, a description that is used repeatedly throughout the entire Bible and has proven to be true time and again. When my faith is weak and I feel small, I remember God’s character. He is gentle, compassionate, just, and full of everlasting, loyal love. My faith ebbs and flows like the tide of the ocean. It is impossible to be strong one hundred percent of the time, and more often than not, I feel like David. Hopeless, confused, and in need of a reminder of God’s character. He is faithful to his people and has promised to never leave or forsake them. My life can be a mess, and yet I know there is a God who feels compassion towards me. I make the same mistakes, and yet I know God is slow to anger and gives me grace. I get lost in a spiral of doubt and faithlessness, and yet God is loyally loving and a rock of faith. God has proven to me that he is who he says he is. This year might not get better. Our political, economic, or social situations might not change like we hope they will. My own faith will rise and fall and stagnate. And yet, God is faithful, compassionate, and loving until the very end of the age. “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3: 21-23