Psalm 33: Hope in a Pandemic

Psalms 33:16-18

            The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

            Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Father, I’m desperately searching for a place to hang my hope during this covid-19 crisis. Am I disinfecting my home enough? Are we washing our hands enough? Do we have enough tests? In my desperate searching, I forget: My only true hope lies with you. As crucial as it is to disinfect properly, keep our distance, and wash our hands through the day as we fight against this virus, You are the only One who can save us.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

Do my actions show that I fear You or covid-19 more? Do I focus more on washing my hands and disinfecting my home than I do calling on you for help in this time of need? Remind me, Lord, even as I do the practical things to protect my loved ones, that I need to pray and bring specific requests to you. My list is so very long, but You hear each and every one.

It’s so scary to watch the news, Father. People are suffering in terrible and numerous ways. So I turn to Your Word to be reminded what You say about hope. And I find a little treasure. You tell us a sure place we can fix our hope: Your steadfast love. In the midst of these dark days, help me to hope in Your steadfast love. I’m so thankful that nothing can change Your steadfast love for us.

Romans 8:35-39

            Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

            No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.