An Evening Lament: A cry for the Nations

“Their blood cries out to me from the ground!” O Lord, your lament echoes across countless generations from the very inception of recorded history! O Lord, my Love, I join You; with every fiber of my being, I enter into Your lament. The cry of the innocent, the cry of the poor, the cry of the wounded, the dying, the rejected – these cries enter my soul in the shadows of night and echo throughout the day. How can I bear it, my Love? What do You have in mind for me to do? All I can do is sit in the ashes and wait, my Love, and wait for You to act. I wait and I cry and I am deeply troubled on behalf of the wounded world.

     My Lord, my Rock,

     do not remain silent!

     Although Your Word is present,

     the nations continuously turn away.

     My own people – they are the attackers,

     my own kin are filled with hate.

     They cannot see beyond themselves

     they reject Your light among them.

     You bide Your time,

     You wait for their return.

     O Loving Father,

     Tender Mother,

     is Your waiting in vain?

My Lord, my Love,

     I cling to You,

          longing for wisdom, instruction and truth.

          Where would You have me, Love,

     where shall I go?

For You I wait.

Habakkuk’s cry becomes my own as I wait and watch and wonder.

When will my Love come to rescue?
When will my God come to save?
     Come and deliver,
     set us free from ourselves,
          free from the bondage of pride.
     Come and deliver,
     soften our minds and hearts,
          Spirit descend once again.