Week 18: Day 5

Intro: Hello and welcome to Orbit, a short reflection to help you put God at the centre of your life from the team behind Satellites - I'm Jenny Flannagan, I manage Alumina, Youthscape’s online support program for teenagers struggling with self-harm. Each weekday we share a little bit of the Bible with you, give you a chance to pray and think about it, and provide you with one practical way to put it into practice today. This week we’re marking National Mental Health Awareness Week with some reflections that focus on this year’s theme, which is loneliness.

Bible: Today's reading comes from Lamentations 3:55-58

I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: ‘Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.’ You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’

You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life.

Thoughts: My favourite verses in the whole Bible aren’t these verses from Lamentations – but they actually are quite similar which is why I want to share them today. They come from Exodus, chapter 2, at the point in the story when the Israelites are suffering in slavery and are completely desperate. The writer of Exodus tell us:

God heard their cries, and he remembered the agreement he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁵ He saw the troubles of the people of Israel, and he was concerned about them.

There are four things God does here in response to all the suffering and despair.

God hears. God remembers. God sees. God cares.

I wonder if there is anything more profound, or anything we need more.

To be heard. To be remembered. To be seen, really seen. To be loved.

And in these verses in Lamentations there’s some overlap. They tell us that in the midst of all this pain, God heard every cry. God did not look away but instead came close. God spoke and said ‘Do not fear’. God got involved.

For me it’s another picture of God coming and meeting our deepest needs. To be heard and believed. To be cared for. To have someone close to us in the midst of all our suffering.

You might say it’s more urgent to be fed, or given water, and think about someone’s practical needs. And of course there are basic human needs that we have in order to stay alive like food, drink, sleep. But in the last century we have discovered some extraordinary things about other human needs. For example, we know now that a baby who is never picked up by another human, dies. Because food and water isn’t enough. We need love. We need touch. We need to know we matter.

We need to be heard, to be remembered, to be really seen, and to be loved. We need to be held and understood. And that is exactly what God does. It’s who he, or she, is. They can’t help but hear, and respond with love.

But what about fixing things? Isn’t that what God should do? It’s interesting that it isn’t God’s first response, is it? In either passage. We do know that in the case of the Israelites in Egypt God called Moses who eventually led the slaves to freedom, although the whole journey of getting to the promised land took a lot longer than anyone might have predicted. And in the case of Lamentations, the destruction of Jerusalem and the invasion of the Babylonians was not the end of the story for God’s people. But neither of those things were quick fixes. Even though it might have been possible for God to sweep in and sort it all out more quickly.

God seems to make much more of a priority of listening and coming close and being present with us in our struggles than he does of quickly making everything better. And that can be uncomfortable. It can feel scary to think about. It might even make us angry. It’s good to be honest about our reactions.

But let’s also lean into God’s love and God’s presence right now, trusting that God knows and understands and remembers. Let’s take hope from these verses that God knows our deepest needs and wants to meet us in our struggles. We can’t say when they will end, but God’s love and concern, God’s desire to hear and see us completely, that is wholly available now.

Prayer: God thank you that you hear everything, even the stuff I can’t put into words. Thank you that you remember me, every moment, and all that I am going through. Thank you that you really see me. And that you love me. Help me to lean into each of those truths today right here in the middle of my struggle. Amen.

Action: Every day on Orbit we give you a simple practical challenge to help you put this passage into action in your life. Here's today's:

If you have a journal, get that out, and if not find a piece of paper and a pen. At the top of the page I want you to write each of those words we talked about – God hears me. God remembers me. God really sees me. God loves me. And then under each of them I want you to write some specifics. What does God hear you say? What does God remember about you – maybe things you’ve been through, things other people have said to you, other things that God has said to you before. What does God really see when God looks at you (and I want to give you a hint here that the answer isn’t about all the things you’ve done wrong. A loving parent is always drawn to what is wonderful, and what is really going on for their kid). And then finally – God loves me. Write down some things God loves about you.

Outro: That's it for today's Orbit. Thanks so much for joining me this week – join us again next week for a new set of daily devotions.