'Sinking in deep mire' - February 3
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 69:1-23(24-30)31-38; PM Psalm 73; Isa. 56:1-8; Gal. 5:16-24; Mark 9:2-13
Today’s Reflection
The psalms appointed for this morning shows us a vivid and familiar picture of what it is to feel completely overwhelmed by our life. As we read at the beginning of Psalm 69:
Save me, O God. for the waters have risen up to my neck.
I am sinking in deep mire, and there is no firm ground for my feet.
I have come into deep waters, and the torrent washes over me.
I have grown weary with my crying; my throat is inflamed; my eyes have failed from looking for my God (Ps. 69: 1-4).
This psalm reminds me of a song called “Down in the Lowlands” by Charlie Peacock, who took Psalm 69 and made it his own. Whenever I hear this psalm, I hear Peacock and his collaborator Vince Ebo as they give voice to this lament:
Down in the lowlands, where the water is deep,
Hear my cry, hear my shout,
Save me, save me,
Down in the lowlands, where the water is deep,
Hear my cry, hear my shout,
Save me, save me.Could this be it?
Could I be drowning?
Have I failed to be heard by the only one who can save me?
Show me some mercy, and touch me again,
Please lift me up above where I am.
Whether in the original words of the psalmist, or in Peacock’s reimagining of it, Psalm 69 gives voice to that feeling of being overwhelmed by our life, whether as a nation or as a family or as an individual. As noted Psalms scholar Robert Alter confirms, “In this psalm, the familiar image of drowning as a metaphorical representation of near death is elaborated with arresting physiological concreteness: The rising waters come up to the neck; the speaker feels his feet slipping from underneath him in the water as he sinks into the mire; then the current sweeps him away.”
But fear not! Psalm 69 begins to take a hopeful turn. Beginning in verse 14, the psalmist says,
As for me, this is my prayer to you… ‘In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your unfailing help. Save me from the mire, do not let me sink… Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind; in your great compassion, turn to me (Ps. 69: 14-18).
And then later in the psalm, we hear this:
The afflicted shall see and be glad; you who seek God, your heart shall live. For the Lord listens to the needy and his prisoners he does not despise (Ps. 69: 34-35).
When we are feeling most overwhelmed by the deep waters of troubling times, when it seems like there is no escaping whatever situation we find ourselves stuck in, it is good to know that we have a God who will hear our cry and will answer us. We have a God who will turn toward us and show us compassion.
But how does God hear us and show us this compassion? In my experience, God shows that he sees us and hears us when we show up for one another. When we turn toward a fellow human being who is crying out for help—whether they are asking with a loud shout or in a desperate whisper—we are showing God’s saving help and compassion to that person. Who is God asking you to turn toward today, to extend a hand to help free them from whatever deep mire they are stuck in right now?
Becky+
Questions for Self-Reflection
Recall a time when you felt absolutely overwhelmed by life—or maybe that time for you is right now. Did someone come alongside you in a way that helped you keep believing in a God of love and compassion? What did that person say or do that helped you to feel seen, loved, and supported?
Daily Challenge
Ask God to show you someone in your circle of influence who may feel like they are drowning in deep waters or stuck in deep mire at this moment in their life. Listen for how God may be nudging you to be the person who gives them the support they need to get their feet back on dry land again.