By Adam Curtis
Christians have been saved by Jesus Christ, are filled by the Holy Spirit and in direct communion with God the Father. Surely, we should be in a constant state of giddiness! And yet as we enter another lockdown I’m anything but giddy. These feelings can make me ask deep questions; Is God for me? Am I far away from him?
Do you know that feeling?
And what does God have to say to us in this situation? Well, many things. But one of them, is that it is ok, not to be ok. Look at the Psalms! Many of them are songs of praise written from the position of victory, but many are also songs of lament.
Take Psalm 6 for example. David is writing from a position of anguish. Strangely though, this is encouraging for us and offers us a form of relief. It reminds us that even though we know God, we are allowed to find things difficult. We do not have to be “ok” all the time. Lament is part of the Christian experience.
But, importantly, the psalms rarely end with lament. In Psalm 6 David acknowledges his agony and then seeks help from the Lord;
“Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”
His lament turns into a petition!
It is ok, not to be ok during this lockdown. We may be bored out of our minds or feel a deep level of desperation. These feelings do not mean we are separate from God! Let us lament this current situation, and then turn to the Lord for relief and cry to him; “save me because of your unfailing love.”
