This Compassionate God
We often find ourselves in urgent prayers. From personal to global affairs, we encounter issues that we need God’s immediate attention to--all the more so in this rapidly changing world. Sometimes, our prayers seem to be heard shortly; sometimes, our problems seem to persist, and we might even feel on the verge of losing patience.
Psalm 70 opens with “Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O LORD, make haste to help me!” The psalmist prays for deliverance from foes who try to hurt them and seek their life. The preceding Psalm 69 elaborates on horrible acts the Psalmist has received; Psalm 40, whose verses 13-17 are almost identical to Psalm 70, reads “[evils and inequities] are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.” (Psalms 40:12). Reading these psalms, I could not help but resonate deeply with the psalms; the psalmist of course wants to be delivered right away! Why are they not delivered yet?
Now, in this year’s Lent, what blessed lessons does this psalm offer us? First and foremost, we see the power of the psalm as a prayer. Our hearts sometimes unintentionally start to look away from God and get caught up in our own frustrating situations. Psalms 40 and 70 do not dismiss our common emotions or psychology and sublimate them into a prayer for deliverance. By reciting these psalms or using them as our prayer template, I believe we can recentre ourselves promptly to return to God.
This psalm further let me think over our narrow scope versus God’s all-encompassing scope. When engulfed in our own worries and concerns, we often see the issues in our terms and pray for resolutions within our own timeframe. However, the Lord knows when to help us, and that is beyond our logic and imaginations. Let us remember the story where Jesus heard the message on his dying friend Lazarus but stayed in the same place for two days before heading to Judea. He let it be known that “[this illness] is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:1-6). God’s plan works in God’s timeframe beyond ours, and importantly, we do not know of such a plan until it is fulfilled, just like Lazarus’ family and friends. Then, to me, faith is not just believing in God but also believing in God’s plan itself whatever it may be and trusting God throughout the process.
Thankfully, Jesus understands our hearts and souls in emotional turmoil. Let us remind ourselves that Jesus shared his outpouring emotions with tears, facing Lazarus’ death and the mourning of those survived by Lazarus (John 11:28-37); Jesus cared about them even when it was not his time to help them yet. Let us return to this compassionate God.
Lord, our world needs your immediate attention, from our personal concerns to the needs of those suffering across the world. However, we know that you will deliver us according to your plan beyond our logic or imagination. We are also assured that you are always compassionate and care about us throughout. We pray to you O God that our faiths in you and your plan strengthen in this Lent and that we never look away from you no matter what or how long it takes for the fulfillment of your plan. Amen.
RM