It is easy to feel God’s presence when we are feeling loved, safe, and appreciated. But when we feel lost, hurt, unseen, abandoned, and unheard it can feel as though God is nowhere to be found. It can seem as though we have been abandoned by God to a point of despairing. We might be tempted to respond in kind to frustration, loss, and anxiety, with revenge and striking out. We might be tempted to rejoice in envisioning our enemies’ downfall. We might believe, for a moment, this is the only way because we don’t hear or see another path.
Yet, the Psalm calls us to “remember” the miracles, “consider” all God’s works, and “meditate” on God’s mighty deeds. This longer view can mitigate the immediate pain of the present, softening temptations to act out. God teaches us again and again that despair or revenge are not the way. The only true path of love is deeper and richer by far. We can reconnect again and again with God if we “remember,” “consider,” and “meditate” on all the miracles in scripture, in the wider world, and in our personal lives. Miracles wrought, though “footprints were not seen.”
- Psalm 77
- Proverbs 30:1-9
- Matthew 4:1-11
