In The Wake Of The Newtown, CT Tragedy – Turning To The Psalms

In life, we experience many ups and downs.  While yesterday was a day to focus on an uncontrollable and everlasting joy (see my advent post from yesterday), it’s also been a weekend of such sadness following the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

I can only imagine the despair that must be in the hearts of those in the community and in the homes of those who lost loved ones.  I’m sure I cannot fully relate to their sadness.  Having said that, I’ve experienced my own ups and downs.  One place that I’ve found solace is the Psalms.  In the Psalms, the writers express joy, happiness, exaltation, hope, and utter despair.  As we all process this week and life in general, I’m thankful God’s Word.  The Psalm below speaks to the emotions of this weekend.

God, you’re my last chance of the day.
    I spend the night on my knees before you.
Put me on your salvation agenda;
    take notes on the trouble I’m in.
I’ve had my fill of trouble;
    I’m camped on the edge of hell.
I’m written off as a lost cause,
    one more statistic, a hopeless case.
Abandoned as already dead,
    one more body in a stack of corpses,
And not so much as a gravestone—
    I’m a black hole in oblivion.
You’ve dropped me into a bottomless pit,
    sunk me in a pitch-black abyss.
I’m battered senseless by your rage,
    relentlessly pounded by your waves of anger.
You turned my friends against me,
    made me horrible to them.
I’m caught in a maze and can’t find my way out,
    blinded by tears of pain and frustration.

I call to you, God; all day I call.
    I wring my hands, I plead for help.
Are the dead a live audience for your miracles?
    Do ghosts ever join the choirs that praise you?
Does your love make any difference in a graveyard?
    Is your faithful presence noticed in the corridors of hell?
Are your marvelous wonders ever seen in the dark,
    your righteous ways noticed in the Land of No Memory?

I’m standing my ground, God, shouting for help,
    at my prayers every morning, on my knees each daybreak.
Why, God, do you turn a deaf ear?
    Why do you make yourself scarce?
For as long as I remember I’ve been hurting;
    I’ve taken the worst you can hand out, and I’ve had it.
Your wildfire anger has blazed through my life;
    I’m bleeding, black-and-blue.
You’ve attacked me fiercely from every side,
    raining down blows till I’m nearly dead.
You made lover and neighbor alike dump me;
    the only friend I have left is Darkness.

Psalm 88 (The Message)