Scripture for Today
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:19-24 ESV
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10 ESV
Things to Think About
There seems to be confusion everywhere on the correct path to take regarding this pandemic. Even between family and friends the information isn’t quite the same. What is the truth? What is real? Who do we believe?
It feels oddly familiar to what we read in scripture around Holy Week. On Palm Sunday they are shouting “Hosanna, Hosanna.” On Friday some of the same voices are heard yelling, “crucify him, crucify him,” and on Saturday, it’s silent. The people are confused, the information is different between family and friends. What is the truth that just happened? What is real? Who do they believe?
We often don’t give space for the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Never before has the concept of this silence on Saturday meant so much.
Max Lucado writes: “On Saturday, Jesus is silent. So is God. He made himself heard on Friday. He tore the curtains of the temple, opened the graves of the dead, rocked the earth, blocked the sun of the sky, and sacrificed the Son of Heaven. Earth heard much of God on Friday. Nothing on Saturday. Jesus is silent. God is silent. Saturday is silent.”
To some, this experience of life right now, may seem like a Saturday that forgot to end. Saturday’s silence torments us. God feels silent, Jesus feels silent and far away. We are stuck in the liminal space between what we knew before and wondering what is to come. For most of us there is a level of suffering we are experiencing – A sort of collective grieving in what has been lost. Our way of life, graduations, weddings, a chance to gather to say final good-byes to loved ones. All is different. All is unfamiliar and yet familiar. We are set still by the silence of our world around us. It’s unnerving. Our suffering is palatable and so we sit, waiting. Waiting for our Sunday to arrive.
About the Author: Marnee Alfson is an EMDR trained trauma specialist in private practice in Vancouver, WA. Marnee received her training under the direction of leading author and developer of Story Informed Trauma Therapy (SITT), Byron Kehler, MS. She has worked with survivors of various traumas such as sexual and/or domestic assault, displacement, first responders, attachment in relationships, body image, life transitions and mood management.
She believes we gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience we choose to walk through. Trauma recovery therapy is an important part of hope in helping other survivors live their lives free of the pain they have experienced.
Never heard that Lucado quote before. SO good! Thanks for sharing Marn.