Psalm Reflection: The First Sunday of Lent - Cycle C

“Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.” - Psalm 91

Have you ever been in a situation where you have been tempted to ask: 

“Where is God?” 

or 

“Why did God let this happen?”

I think we all have these thoughts at some point. We need to be reminded often that God never abandons us. Even at our lowest and most painful moments, Jesus is right there with us as he promised: “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

The season of Lent begins this week and in my own preparation I keep coming back to and reflecting on these verses from the book of Hebrews:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for timely help.  – Hebrews 4:14–16

On Sunday, we will hear the account of Jesus is temptation in the desert from the gospel of Luke. That story and these verses from Hebrews remind us that Jesus became man to bring about our salvation, when He could have done so with a snap of his fingers. Instead, He chose to redeem us in a way that would perpetually remind us, especially in our moments of weakness, that He understands everything that we could ever go through because He came and lived it Himself. 

Jesus did not need to experience temptation to help us, but He wanted to. He wanted to be able to relate to and sit with us in our moments of trouble. 

So, why do we always ask where he is in the moments when he is most present and close to us? Probably because we expect for everything to always be perfect.

We live in a world that is always optimizing and trying to create the perfect lifestyle, experience, or product. It has left us with the belief that if anything is not perfect, something is wrong and needs to be fixed. We are often tempted to either hide these negative things, complain about them, or find anything or anyone else to blame for them. It is easy to blame God, because He does not often show up to defend himself. Besides, He should be able to fix everything, right? 

Often times, we do not realize that life is not meant to be perfect in the sense we strive for, and sometimes “the pain is the path.” 

If a weightlifter wants to be the best, they have to go through the struggle of working out, training, waking up early every morning, and saying no to certain luxuries or experiences in order to devote themselves to getting stronger. 

There are countless stories of people who have suffered incredible losses or trauma who, as a result, devote their lives to helping others process similar events in their lives.

Sometimes the hardest things end up being the best things.

Sometimes our most difficult moments become the most defining ones.

Without loss and struggle, we would not be able to appreciate what we have or how far we have come.

As Catholics, we embrace and offer our sufferings up because Jesus changed the meaning of suffering on the cross into something redemptive and beautiful. We suffer for what we love. We suffer for who we love.

So, in whatever ways you are suffering, struggling or facing difficulty right now, know that God is with you. He has not abandoned you, and this pain might be the path to something incredible, even though at this moment it might seem like that could never be possible.

This week, hand over your struggles to God in prayer. Offer them with simple words:

God, help me to use this pain in a way that gives you glory.

Jesus, I offer this to you to use as you see fit. 

Holy Spirit, help me to discern where this is leading me.

And do not ask “Where is God?” when bad things happen. Instead, ask it when good things happen so you can more readily and easily see Him blessing you with all of the other things that are still going right in your life.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt