March 25

Psalm 143

Link to Bible verses: Psalm 143

Stewardship/Partnership: treat all as vessels of the altar

When you need to lament, when you need your pains and struggles heard and affirmed, go to the Psalms: “The enemy has pursued me; they have crushed my life to the ground. They have left me in darkness like those long dead. My spirit is faint within me; my heart is dismayed.” Read that last sentence again.

A faint spirit and a dismayed heart. We know those internal places, don’t we? Those moments when God seems like a fantasy because of the injustices in the world, when hope is at most a flicker buried deep beneath the confusions, wounds, and anger. The psalmist lays these emotions in the hands of God and courageously asks for God to response through direct action: “answer me,” “show me,” “rescue me,” teach me,” “guide me,” “give me life,” “lead me.”

One way of thinking about this verse is that the psalmist is stewarding their emotions; they are treating their pains and struggles as sacred vessels for the human experience, and they are inviting God into partnership, into an accompanying presence as they move through this difficult time. I love this combination of both leaning on and working in partnership with God. I still get to be me, but I don’t have to do it alone.

Thank you to Linda Land-Closson for writing our 2026 Lenten Devotions.