Praying For a Better Day

Tuesday was not a good day. In fact, it was a bad day; not the worst, but still, all things considered, beyond disappointing and approaching depressing. The details of why this was so don’t really matter to my point. You have had, and may be having one of those days right now, and you certainly will in the future. Generally, the badness of Tuesday involved people I love, the denomination I belong to, and the nation in which I live.

Beyond just wanting such a day to be over, the other key feature of such a day is wondering where in the world God is hiding and what in the world God is up to in my life, the life of those I love and in the battle against evil in this world.  The questions are the oldest ones facing humanity once we got past the point of figuring out food and fire, and maybe the wheel and how to sharpen stones. If you read the forever relevant book of Job you will see all of these questions and more, and you will see the suggestion that it might be better to just deny, or at least abandon one’s faith in God when confronted with the overwhelming sense of defeat.  So, I went to bed feeling despondent, without hope.

Wednesday morning I awoke and I had to decide whether I could engage God in my morning prayers.  It was not as hard as I thought it would be. God allowed me to vent a bit, and then a strange sense of calm, the budding of hope, began to take over my mind. God was still speaking to me. In the shower (not a sight you want to visualize, but important to the story) I started to think of something to sing, which is a sure elixir of hope.  My mind settled on an old theatre audition piece:

When you're down and out
Lift up your head and shout
There's gonna be a great day
Angels in the sky
Promise that by and by
There's gonna be a great day… (Barbra Streisand, “(It’s Gonna Be) A Great Day”)

Which reminded me of this prophetic word:

Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Wednesday was better than Tuesday. Some days that is sufficient.