Day 19 • The Week of Joy

Scripture Readings:
Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26
2 Samuel 6:1-11
Hebrews 1:1-4

One of the most predictable things about life is how unpredictable it can be. I think we can all resonate with that, especially with all that has happened in recent years. Things can be going along smoothly with very little change, then without warning, we are in the middle of a global pandemic, and there seems to be loss and upheaval around every corner. For many, the sense of stability, safety, and even joy were dismantled almost overnight. Many are still trying to regain a sense of stability even now. It can all happen so fast.

What is often missed, though is that the reverse is also true. Our “normal” can simply feel like chaos all the time. Financial difficulties, job transitions, moving, and the stress of being human can feel absolutely relentless in certain seasons of life. The sheer act of just trying to make life happen can make you feel like you’re running at breakneck speed with no end in sight. But then, without warning, the end does come. Finances settle, a job is found, a home is found, and things seem to be calmer than they’ve been in such a long time. Help arrives unexpectedly, so often accompanied with tears of joy.

It is this theme that we see with our reading from Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26. Yet this reading isn’t the full picture. If you stick with just this reading, you’ll be left with just the joy and not all that happened before joy and deliverance arrived. Let me explain what I’m talking about.

If you have some time today, read Psalm 88, the chapter that comes right before our reading today. Then read our passage from Psalm 89 today, and I challenge you to do it without laughing because I do every time! You see, some scholars suggest that Psalm 88 may just be the top competitor for the angriest part of the Bible. The Psalmist is so distraught and angry with God and really letting God have it. The author tells God how abandoned they feel as if God has rejected them and left them to die. They write things like, “Do you show your wonders to the dead?” “I call to you every day!” and “Why do you reject me?” Then, the last verse of Psalm 88 is, “You have taken from me friend and neighbor—darkness is my closest friend.” Cue Simon & Garfunkel’s song The Sound of Silence: “Hello darkness my old friend.”

Then, turn the page and immediately read the first verse of Psalm 89, “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations!” The rest of the Psalm goes on to praise God for deliverance and enduring faithfulness. Talk about a drastic shift! Kind of reminds me of me before I have my coffee and then me after I have my coffee.

Now, there may have been months and even years between the writing of these two Psalms, yet I think the power of changed circumstances still holds true. Look at the state of the author in Psalm 88 compared to the author on the very next page. It is the difference between abandonment and safety, bondage and deliverance, sorrow and joy. Such a powerful metaphor for our own lives as well.

Holding these two Psalms together has been such an encouragement to me, especially during incredibly difficult times. I don’t know about you, but I still have a deep uneasiness and even hopelessness about certain things right now. My family’s future, climate change, American politics, human rights, especially for women, the poor, and those suffering from violence and war. Yet, even in the midst of these serious realities, what keeps stoking my hope, what keeps me diligently working towards justice one day at a time, is the reality that deliverance and healing might be on the very next page of our collective story. It helps me remember that joy can come without warning, and it may be just around the corner.

So, hold on.

Reflection Steps:

I want to invite you today to look at a time in your past when you went from feeling like Psalm 88 to feeling like Psalm 89. Reflect on what you were going through at that time. Then, reflect on the moment that reality started to change for you and how you felt in that moment as well. This is a very simple exercise that can help us to remember the times when the unexpected arrival of joy occurred in our own lives, and it can be a tremendous encouragement for us in the areas we are currently waiting for the arrival of joy today. It can help us to hold one.