Psalm 103:13-16
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
How are you feeling today? Many of us will be feeling weaker
than we're used to. We are aware of our physical frailty in the face of coronavirus but also aware of weakness in other ways ... Our time and attention are finite, but we feel pulled in multiple directions at once, whether by children, work, or concern for neighbours or for family far away. We are spiritually weak - we want to use this season to draw closer to God but we're easily
enticed away by other things. We want to love our household well, but constant confinement feeds our selfish desires and we give in to temptations to be irritable and impatient.
Acknowledging our weakness like this feels uncomfortable, but
it ought to be normal! We ARE weak. We are like grass - here today and gone tomorrow. Not because of the coronavirus but because that's how we are made. But God is not disappointed by our weaknesses – he’s the one who made us that way. We are designed to be finite, limited in time and energy, so that we might
worship the one who is all-powerful and everlasting. In fact, far from being disappointed, God has compassion on our weakness. He is the gentle father who picks us up when we fall, who encourages us when we feel like giving up, whose spirit enables us to overcome temptation. Today, let's be honest about our
weakness - to God and to others - and throw ourselves on the compassionate care of our loving heavenly father.
