Sunday, July 27
I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.
—John 14:18
We all experience the truth of that phrase. And we all seem to know what it implies: that things will unfold that are outside our control, against our will, and that may leave us in a place of struggle, pain, and despair. We hope to avoid that painful chaos, because when we are experiencing pain, struggle, and despair, we feel so terribly alone.
Friends and family may offer comfort and help, but still we feel like the lone wolf howling its plaintiff cry in the isolated forest. Our cry becomes the ache of abandonment. We feel left to see our way through the tangled web and yet feel unable to do so.
In the core of that aloneness there lives a hidden presence—a holy presence— that promises that we do not stand alone to face the terror of our lives or the terror of our own selves. That Divine Presence will be known to us if we will descend into the lonely core that feels so overwhelming and sit in silence.
The Holy Companion will come as surely as the day dawns, and in the silence, the chaos will be stilled.
O Lord, when the vagaries of life buffet me on all sides and leave me helpless and alone, come oh come, and walk with me through the shadows that feel like death.
The Signposts for July are written by Renée Miller and originally appeared on explorefaith.org in 2004.
