“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
Lord Jesus, we’ll never enter death’s dark, shadowy valley alone, or experience a Christ-absent crisis, betrayal, or trauma. Life between your resurrection and return includes clear signs of your present and coming Kingdom. But it also continues to include painful incidents which remind us just how broken the world remains.
You don’t promise us unbreakable hearts or uncrushable spirits before the Day of all-things-new. But you do promise us your unwavering, if sometimes imperceptible, nearness and grace. The fact that the most often question in the Bible is, “How long, Oh Lord?” actually consoles us. We join centuries of your daughters and sons honest about our today’s traumas, and equally thrilled about our forever’s glories.
Jesus, thank you for loving us with empathy, compassion, and kindness. Outside the tomb of your friend, Lazarus, you wept with unfiltered, faith-filled, embarrassment-free tears. So, you never roll your eyes at us when we struggle, ache, and lament. Thank you.
Help us to love fellow lamenters with your unrushed presence and compassion, Jesus. We especially think of children—ours, and children everywhere. Whatever their trauma—going to bed hungry, living in the presence of contempt, hearing the sirens of tornados and wars, burying a beloved pet, or fearing the next pandemic… extend your presence and grace through us. In your tender and trustworthy name, we pray, Amen.