Saturday, September 20

Say among the nations, “The Lord is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.” Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord.
—Psalm 96: 10–12

As I read this beautiful psalm, I thought of all the people who have watched while the earth under their feet literally washed away. I thought of them in temporary shelters, wondering if their world would ever be “firmly established” again. And then I remembered how the people of Israel were banished from their homeland, how they survived loss and uncertainty.

Those ancient people have given us psalms like this one, not out of triumphal situations, but out of the depths of their grief. Through the ages, people of faith have known that, even in the midst of tragedy, or maybe MORE so in the midst of tragedy, God is with them. They know that there is a power that sets things right, a might that can be trusted. 

Most people long for order in the world, for reliability in nature, and for justice in life, but it is people of faith who learn to trust that, even when things seem darkest, there is One who will ultimately put all things right.

With that faith and trust, we can echo their hope and their expectation, and join them in singing, “Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”

Dear Lord, be with those who suffer from any grief or trouble. Bless and keep them, and let your light shine upon them and fill them with hope. Amen.

The Signposts for September are written by Margaret Jones and originally appeared on explorefaith in 2005.