Writing Prompt #12: Compassion

Tanner's prompt for today is Compassion.

I just finished a Bible study on Psalm 77, and oh my goodness, did it resonate with me. Just listen to the first three verses:

"I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.

In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.

When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints."

The first nine verses of the Psalm expand on this theme. We don't know for sure what the Psalmist was going through, but it was clearly some level of excruciating spiritual anguish. In verse nine, he asks,

"Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?"

When I explain my depression, I often distinguish between what I know with my head and what I feel or believe in my heart. Reading this, my brain says, "Of course the answer to those questions is no. God would never do those things!"

But especially when I'm experiencing the deepest of depression, my heart says, "The answer to those questions is not obvious at all. Just look around. Where is God's grace? Where is God's compassion?"

It's a very troubling thing to relate to this Psalm so personally.

But the Psalm isn't done. The Psalmist goes on to write in verses ten-twelve:

"Then I said, 'I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.'

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds."

In our Bible study, we discussed the question, "What might have caused the Psalmist to make such a turnaround?" This feels like a result of a conversation to me. He could have been talking to a loved one about this crisis of faith he was having, and that person might have helped him come to the conclusions he expresses in the second half of the passage. I say that, of course, because when I am in that position, I call on my own loved ones, and they remind me of what God has already done and will continue doing. They are the answer to the questions asked earlier:

"Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?"

No - his grace and compassion are shown through his people. Even when my heart doubts, my loved ones give me confidence in God's promises.

Stay tuned for May 30th: Anxiety, which is bound to be a doozy!