Psalm 107 (NIV):
²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.

Read the full psalm. 

Every seasoned sailor experiences storms at sea. In rolling darkness, their ship sways and shudders by the strength of the wave. As a Navy chaplain, I’ve been thrown from my rack to the deck by the force of the storm. I’ve served alongside sailors unable to sleep because we were overwhelmed by uncontrollable circumstances.

Throughout the past two centuries, the RCA has sent chaplains to sea. The chaplains bring comforting words of the Bible to fearful sailors. Beyond words, they bring the incarnational presence of Jesus among those in the storm. When the waves are strongest, chaplains remind sailors that Jesus is even stronger. They remind mariners who are scared and stressed that they aren’t the first to fight against the storm. Chaplains retell the story of a group of first-century fishermen, wet and wind-burned, caught in a terrifying squall on the Sea of Galilee. These seasoned sailors panic. They cry out to Jesus. Like the calm eye of a savage hurricane, Jesus brings stillness because, no matter the circumstance, he abides with his father.

You may not be at sea, but you may be reeling from waves beyond your control. Are you sinking in frustration, anxiety, fear, depression, or anger? Whatever your storm, call upon the comforter, the Holy Spirit, who will bring the presence and peace of Jesus to your anxious, fearful, and frantic circumstance. God promises to fill your cloudy sky with his bright moonbeams shining against the wave of your stormy sea.

Psalm 91:
¹ You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
² will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”
³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
⁴ he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

Read the full psalm. 

I have walked with many people on their medical journeys. This psalm brought them comfort in the knowledge that God was with them even in the darkest hour. These dark hours come in the middle of the night or in the day as the sun shines in through the window. Light creates shadows. The length of your shadow is determined by the time of the day. The length of God’s shadow is determined by your situation and is always God’s comforting presence. Sometimes the longest shadow of comfort comes at 1:00 a.m. when the doctor delivered the news we all had feared.

I remember one patient who was in the hospital waiting to have her first child. She was also diagnosed with cancer that could possibly take her life. We discussed how God was present with them now and how God would be with them in the future. We cried over all the moments that she would miss—her child’s first words, first steps. She wondered how God would guide her child. She had faith that God would be with her child. She knew that no matter what, her child would never be alone.

We are all children of God. We are all sheltered by the shadow of the almighty. In our darkest moments, it is hard to see the shadow of God protecting us. We may forget that God never leaves us. On this day, no matter how high the sun is in the sky, may you remember that when you call upon the Lord, God will answer. When you are in trouble, God is there. May you abide in God’s love always.

Psalm 90:
¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
² Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. …
¹² So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.

Read the full psalm. 

The writer of this psalm makes us aware of the brevity of life, something we are reminded of every time we pass a mortuary or cemetery. And yet, with our consumptive behavior, we often live as if there is no end to our days. Lent is a perfect time to reconsider our life style and belief systems. It is a call for not only penitence (abstaining), but also repentance (changing). Christ makes us aware of our pursuits and what is essential with these words: “What will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?” (Matthew 16:26). The psalmist reminds us that our very life is from God (v. 1), and later in the Psalms, we are reminded of the reality of life’s brevity: “As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more” (Psalm 103:15).

As a chaplain who has served in many capacities, first in the military, then in law enforcement, in hospice, and presently in the retirement community, I am more aware than ever how fragile and transitory life is—impairment, sickness, frailty, and death are the realities of life. We might make it to age 70 or, if by reason of strength, 80, then it is over, says the author. The psalmist then gives us a word for our Lenten thought in this transitory life in verse 12, “So teach us to count our days that we might gain a wise heart.” In order to reach this place in our lives with conviction and success, it will take time in reflection, prayer, and perhaps even fasting, which is what the Lenten experience is all about. Jesus himself in his journey to the cross, prepared for death with wisdom.

Psalm 77:
¹ I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.
² In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
³ I think of God, and I moan;
I meditate, and my spirit faints.
⁴ You keep my eyelids from closing;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Read the full psalm. 

A mentor of mine once told me, “Soldiers will look you dead in the eye and tell you everything is fine as long as their nose is one inch above the water.” This has certainly been my experience in chaplaincy. I have found that soldiers will quietly endure the type of pain described in this psalm for weeks, months, or even years on end, until they finally plunge into the water. This often takes the form of a divorce, an arrest, or a suicide attempt.

What do we do during the “day of trouble?” We cry aloud to God to find comfort, but for some reason, “my soul refuses to be comforted.” We lose sleep, and we cannot even describe the anguish we are in. On top of all of this, we experience a theological crisis: God promised to never leave or forsake me, but now he has turned his back on me.

Every now and then, soldiers will reveal to me that they have reached out to God during those particularly dark seasons of life, but they have heard no response. They asked for relief, or, at the very least, sustainment, but it doesn’t seem to be working. They are praying like they’ve never prayed before, but still their pain overwhelms. “Has God forgotten to be gracious?” (v. 9).

I suspect maybe that is the whole point. The Bible reminds us over and over that God is merciful and abounding in steadfast love (Exodus 34:6-7), that God never changes (Hebrews 13:8), and that God desires an intimate relationship with his people (Isaiah 43:1; Jeremiah 31:33). I do not believe that God causes our suffering, but he can certainly use it that we might “cry aloud to God,” “think of God,” and “meditate and search my spirit.” The psalmist reminds us that even amid our suffering, it is out of God’s character to spurn or abandon, to be unloving or to withhold compassion. Even on our darkest days, God is inseparable from his goodness and mercy.