I don’t know where you stand politically, but I know for myself there are a whole mixture of emotions today. Anxiety, frustration, maybe a little foreboding. Having relatives and friends in the U.S., it’s hard to watch what is going on there and not be concerned. And what happens in the U.S. often has effects further down the line for many of us elsewhere. Giving a biblical reflection on a day like today is not really a job I relish, but I believe firmly that God speaks through the Bible, and I believe he can speak in the harshest of times.

I don’t know what you’re feeling today. Maybe you have some similar emotions to myself. First and foremost, I would like to commend prayer. That is not always an easy activity in such circumstances, but of course it is never more necessary.

If prayer feels particularly difficult to you, I would also like to suggest reading through some of the Psalms. We often have an odd picture of the Psalms in our heads, of praise and worship to God, and not much else. We may have even memorised some without realising it (Psalm 23 for instance, ‘The Lord is my shepherd…). Many of our hymns come direct from Psalms (Psalm 42 for example, ‘As the deer pants for the water…’), but these praise and worship Psalms are just one part of what we find there. The Psalms cover a whole range of emotions and psychological states. Sometimes we get resolution, and sometimes we don’t. Some theologians talk of the Psalms as Jesus’s prayerbook. He would have known many of them by heart, and even quoted them on the cross.

My favourite Bible verse is Psalm 73v26, ‘My health may fail and my spirit may grow weak, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.’ For me that is profoundly comforting. The Psalm as a whole though, shows a writer struggling with the success of evil people and how to deal with it. What do we pray when evil is succeeding? Is there justice?

Psalm 46 contains those beautiful lines, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ And it begins with the affirmation that God is our ‘refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.’ But the story of the Psalm is of a world where all that seems secure is falling apart: Nations rage, kingdoms totter. The Psalmist is not simply writing bland encouragement.

The lectionary Psalm for today is Psalm 27v1-5:
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
    to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—
    they shall stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
    yet I will be confident.
4 One thing I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
    and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will set me high on a rock.

There’s plenty there to speak into a situation of turmoil and change, of keeping our eyes on God amidst the ups and downs of life. The Psalm ends with , ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.’ But the rest of the Psalms should also strengthen us to embrace and sit with the uncomfortable emotions we might be experiencing along the way.

Second, I would also encourage you to seek out time in nature. Time away from the 24 hour news cycle, a cycle naturally engineered to keep us concerned, on edge, and treating every piece of news as though it could be life or death. We cannot live like that. It is not healthy.

A few years ago I came across a poem from Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things:
When despair for the world grows in me 
and I wake in the night at the least sound 
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, 
I go and lie down where the wood drake 
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. 
I come into the peace of wild things 
who do not tax their lives with forethought 
of grief. I come into the presence of still water. 
And I feel above me the day-blind stars 
waiting with their light. For a time 
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

There is a lot to be said for switching off the TV, putting down your phone, and experiencing time outside.

Third, and finally, I don’t want to minimise the potential fallout from today’s news, nor do I want to ask anyone to move through their emotions too quickly and pretend like everything is ok. But I want to share some brief encouragement. Times like this remind me that much of what we can do in the world for good is not dependant on what goes on in the corridors of power. Whoever is in the White House, or Downing Street, or wherever else, our calling remains clear: Love God, and love neighbour.

To that end I’d like to share one more quote. This is from Rabbi Rami Shapiro. It’s a paraphrase of the Mishnah and a commentary on Micah 6v8:
Do not be daunted
By the enormity
Of the world’s grief.
Do justly, now
Love mercy, now
Walk humbly, now.
You are not obligated
to complete the work,
but neither are you free to abandon it.

May you take the time to grieve, to wrestle with God, and may the Holy Spirit then strengthen you to love God and neighbour.

(If you’re interested in the ‘live’ version of this from our church ‘Pause for Prayer’ you can find it here.)