From Lament to Hope this Easter Season

 A Lament for this Holy Week... 

Psalm 3

NIV

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

1 Lord, how many are my foes!
    How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
    “God will not deliver him.”[b]

3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
    my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain.

5 I lie down and sleep;
    I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
    assail me on every side.

7 Arise, Lord!
    Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
    break the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
    May your blessing be on your people.

 We have talked about the things we lament over this past year. Have you? It seems as though suffering has taken it toll in so many ways. Grief and loss have shown up in ways that we never before imagined. The unknowns of Covid have created a type of loss sometimes even ambiguous and hard to understand. With loss, comes grief and at times is seems that we are frozen in our grief. It is hard to comprehend, define, or even name. It remains somewhat unclear, traumatic, or confusing. Sometimes it has been hard to move forward or even move past it. We want to, but so often we remain frozen in place with our grief and loss. 

As we consider our missionaries serving around the world and their losses, we soon realize they too are people feeling the same things we are feeling. Many of them have had to quickly leaving their ministry or place of service, unable to travel, adjust to borders closing, opening and closing again, family separations, job losses, deaths with limited funerals and grieving alone have stymied our abilities to cope and continue moving forward. 

In thinking about Holy Week, we come to the scene of our Lord Jesus who faced this sudden shift in focus, sort of like we did when the pandemic hit. 

Jesus shifted from King to Criminal in just one week. He was crucified and died on Good Friday. What a lament we have as we think about this grief and this loss. 

What do you think Jesus' struggle was, what was his pandemic lament? Was it the criticisms of a condemning crowd, the accusations against him sentencing him to the cross to die, the enemy Satan figuring he foiled God's divine plan once and for all? What was Jesus' lament? What do we bring in our lament this Holy Week? Perhaps it is criticisms of other people, or the enemy judging you within, or something else? 

Psalm 3:3 reminds us that the Lord is our shield around us and He lifts us up. He is surrounding us and protecting us as we cry out to Him. He answers us and redeems us with his peace and protection as He delivers us from our enemies. While we are caught up in our lament, we remember Holy Week ends with quite the redeeming factor. Our Lord Jesus conquered death and the grave and He resurrected from the dead to bring us the gift of eternal life and the hope of heaven. We no longer remain frozen in our grief and the struggles of this life as we pray through the emotional struggles and put our confidence in God. 

We were talking the other day, and lamenting that we haven't been able to travel for over one year. During the past 15 years we have been visiting countries, (31 now) and we were always planning where in the world would God would have us to go next. While that has not been our lament, we also realize that God has helped us continue effective ministries that are intentional and helpful to our cross cultural workers around the world. We find great meaning in the present, while acknowledging (lamenting) the ambiguous losses. We have found meaning in our present reality in unexpected ways. Life has slowed down a bit, with travel transitioning to zoom travels to help build intentional relationships in ministry settings that have been exciting and fulfilling. God has shown up in amazing ways and you have been a part of that through your prayers and support. We are both a part of God's bigger picture in His world, even in this pandemic time. We encourage you as we do our global workers to embrace the love of God and the care He offers. The current chapter you are living is just a part of His bigger work. 

As you lament and grieve, be reminded of God's presence this Easter Season and may you discover new hope in Jesus and His resurrection. A hope that will continue to hold the hard and unknown challenges of life in the hands of the One who called us to Himself. We may never understand all this life has sent our way, but let's cling to the fact that the One who is faithful is enough for our every need. 

May God bless you greatly this Easter Season as you release your lament into His loving care. 

Happy Easter. 

Sincerely, 

Ned and Marlene McGrady

World Gospel Mission, Marion, IN 46952