Few are indifferent. Even those who haven’t been glued to the TV, those who aren’t obsessed with politics, those who just want the commercials to be over and the text messages to stop, few would say that our recent elections don’t matter. Many are reacting as if nothing matters more. Some have gone into mourning, tears rolling down their cheeks as they react online. Some are furious, looking for someone they can blame. On the other side, many are celebrating. Some are gloating. Others have a little spring in their step. It seems like half the country is near despair, while the other half is feeling hopeful. Nearly everyone has the sense that the results of our elections matter. The reactions reveal something about life.
Elections matter because people’s lives matter. So far as our elected leaders affect lives elections will have an effect on people. All of the over the top reactions to the results this week reveal a disconnect between what many say and the testimony of their lives. Some say life doesn’t really matter; we are all just specks floating in space. Some ridicule those who look for meaning in the world around them. Some say we are just animals, products of evolution, and the best we can do is to advance to better lives. Some deny truth or proclaim that universal truth is beyond our reach. People say these things, but no one lives that way. People live as if life matters.
Right now, my dogs are unconcerned about the election results. The birds in my backyard haven’t given the candidates a moment’s consideration. The animals never ask why things happen. They don’t wonder how long they have to endure hard times. They don’t hope. They don’t look for meaning beyond their next meal and a safe place to rest. The animals don’t need meaning, but we do. We think about events. We wonder what they mean. We waver between worry and hope about what tomorrow may bring. We talk about these things. We analyze our feelings. We pray for strength, comfort, and guidance.
Human life matters; unfortunately, our lives are full of uncertainty. Our lives are full of troubles, of joys, of despair, of hope, and all of this matters, because life matters. We know this in our hearts. We live that truth every day. Life matters, but what does it mean?
Tucked in the center of the Bible is a book of songs and prayers. Although they have been beloved for thousands of years, I have always struggled with this book of poetry. I could always feel that these verses contained more meaning than a causal reading could give, but I have always found myself a little out of my depth when I tried to delve for their treasures.
Over the passed few years, I have made a concerted effort to include the Psalms in my daily meditation on God’s Word. More and more as I have faced challenges, hardships, asked bigger questions, even wrestled with doubts, the Psalms became more and more meaningful to me. Every question our hearts ask seem to be written in the Psalms. The struggles of life are described in those verses. My weakness are exposed, my doubts are spoken, my worries expressed, and they are answered in powerful truth. Then the Psalms teach my heart to respond to this life with joy.
We all know elections matter because we know human life matters; however, as we study the Psalms, maybe we can learn that these results aren’t the answer for which our hearts are longing. With the Psalms written in our hearts, politics don’t need to dominate our lives. “Do not trust in human helpers, in a mortal man who cannot save you” (Psalm 146). I feel lost and don’t know where to turn. “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121). When the wicked prosper and it seems like justice is rarely served, “then I remember their end” (Psalm 73). When I have done wrong and hurt those around me, when shame fills my heart, “I said I will confess my sin to the LORD, and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32). When the world is dark, death is near, when I need hope, “I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 116).
The Psalms are the place where the questions and cares of the human heart go to meet the God of love, the Lord. If you long for meaning, if you have doubts and cares, if you want to see your relationship with God through the eyes of faith, make the Psalms a part of your daily life. I also invite you to follow these weekly devotions as Our hearts Meet the Loving God in the Psalms.