North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church

O sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Sing to the LORD, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day. (Psalm 96:1–2)

On the surface, Psalm 96 is simply a song of utmost praise. The psalmist calls us all to sing: to bless God’s name (v. 2), to declare God’s glory (v. 3), to tell God’s marvelous works (v. 3), to worship God in holy splendor (v. 9). But the psalmist’s deep desire is for the entirety of the world to be set right with the righteousness and justice of God (v. 14). This means that the psalmist sings (and calls us to sing) even when times are difficult, even when righteousness is difficult to find, even when justice and wholeness and peace are hard to come by. May we sing the song of the psalmist, in good times and in difficult times, as our prayer for righteousness and justice – even now.            – rc

The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea. (Acts 11:29)

As Presbyterians, we claim that we are a “connectional” church; that is, we are not solely independent congregations making our way on our own, left to fend for ourselves in difficult times. Instead, we are tied together, we celebrate joys together, we bear one another’s burdens together, we support each other – together. But I’d also like to suggest that our connectionality also binds us together as a human family. To be connectional means that we give of ourselves for the good of everyone – just as the early Christ-following communities gave of themselves (as they could), for the benefit of those in need. – rc

Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,

for in you I put my trust.

Teach me the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul. (Psalm 143:8)

This morning, we arise with the psalmist after having expressed our deepest selves to God last night. We’re trying to hold two profound truths together; on the one hand, we feel myriad emotions on account of all that is going on in the world around us and on the other, we sing out, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, [God’s] mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22–23). So this morning we lift up our beings once more, praying for the steadfast love of God to be made known here and now. – rc

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 118:1)

Today, the psalmist weaves together the distress of the present moment with the memory of God’s graciousness in the past all for the hope of a better future. She cries out in distress hoping for the steadfast love of the LORD, but it is the steadfast love of the LORD that compels her to cry out in the first place. Nonetheless, she (and we) sing out, trusting that God’s “steadfast love endures forever!” (v.1, 2, 3, 4, 29) – that’s why we can say with confidence, “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (v. 24), even during difficult times. – rc

They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. (Job 2:13)

Job’s is a tale of suffering, pain, and loss. He’s lost his livelihood, his wealth, his well-being, his children and now he is left in his grief, miserably mourning, trying to make sense of why this devastation has happened. If you are not familiar with the rest of the book of Job, his three friends – Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar – don’t do much right; they are quick to blame Job for his wrongdoing and they are slow to support their friend in his pain.

But here, they get it right. Here, they sit with their friend in silence. Here, they “saw that his suffering was very great” (v. 13). Sometimes, there are no answers to life’s hard questions, life’s difficult moments. Sometimes silence is the best answer. Sometimes silence is the only answer. – rc