Have mercy upon us, O LORD,
have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough
of contempt.
Ever have one of those days when it seems that what you do makes no difference, that it simply doesn't matter? I imagine that all of us have them occasionally. I certainly do. Such feelings are not always "reasonable." They can arise on days when nothing terrible has happened. Maybe it's some cumulative impact, or maybe I just got up on the wrong side of the bed.
Regardless, there are times when it is easy to resonate with the words of today's psalm. While I'm not feeling like the object of anyone's contempt, it's just one of those days. And it would sure be nice if God showed up in some significant way.
God often does. Some of my most vivid spiritual experiences have emerged on the heels of some of my lowest moments. Sometimes I wonder if it takes such moments, times when I feel vulnerable, for God to get through to me. When things are going well I am whirring along, often too busy for God. Sometimes it seems to require "one of those days," even a succession of them, to peel back the insulation of busyness, activity, and "competence" that shields me from God.
It can happen in other relationships as well. People can get caught up in their routines, going through the motions of life while failing to nurture the relationships that really matter. Sometimes it takes something to jar us out of such routines, to strip away the insulation that keeps us from actually being there with and for the other.
It's one of those days, God, and I've had enough of it. Have mercy on me.
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