Compiled by: Georgeanne Falstrom, Intern
PARISH LAY MINISTRY ACADEMY
TABLE OF CONTENTS

THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2006
(Daily readings: Psalm 143; Lamentations 2:10-18; 1 Corinthians 10:14-17, 11-32; Mark 14:12-252)


“ONLY A LITTLE WHILE "
By: Intern Kerstin

Scripture: “Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me, or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust.” Psalm 143


In situations of desperation, all of us have prayed this prayer, “answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails.” Some of us may pray this prayer when we have a difficult decision to make and we want God to quickly and clearly light the proper pathway. We pray this prayer when we hope for suffering in or around us to cease. Even Jesus prayed a similar prayer on this night of his betrayal, “Father remove this cup from me.” We all know that life is not the way it should be, and we wonder why God doesn’t fix everything immediately. That is the mystery.

If we always ask only for immediate fixes, sometimes we are left listening only to an apparent silence from God. We are left staring into a dark empty universe that does not answer us. But God does promise to answer us, and God does promise to mend the whole universe…to restore life back to the way it should be. The Bible has really only one definitive thing to say about our suffering: it will end.

When or how our suffering will end is the great mystery to us. That it will end is the glorious hope and promise for us. Whatever we suffer, although it may seem like an eternity to us, it is only for a little while. It may seem to us that God does not answer us quickly, but God promises to give us new bodies, a new heaven, and a new earth. When God finally restores us fully to the eternal glory that Christ promises us, all of our suffering (if we remember it at all) will seem only like a flicker in time.

Prayer: God of peace and patience, sometimes I feel like you do not listen to my prayers. I do not feel like you answer me quickly. Yet you hear all of our prayers and you promise to restore us. Grant us peace and hope these days as we wait for your resurrection. Help us to remember that joy will find us one morning, and that you will stifle all suffering. Amen.