Psalm 102: ¹ Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you. ² Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call. 

Here again the psalmist is sounding desperate. Despite his pleas and prayers to God, God seems nowhere to be found. This morning I’m drawn to “Do not hide your face from me…”.

We recently got a new puppy – a dachshund puppy named Penny (pictured with our bulldog Daisy). She’s really my wife Jana’s puppy and they spend a lot of time together now that Jana has retired from teaching high school. When Jana is around, Penny is happy and adventurous. With her short little legs and long nose she’s constantly sniffing around, exploring her surroundings. Yet when Jana leaves her, or is simply not visible to Penny, the puppy gets anxious. She will start to whimper and, if left for long periods, may start barking – hoping Jana will hear her and appear once again. Of course, Penny is just fine in Jana’s absence, but the puppy doesn’t seem to know that yet.

There are times when I feel anxious and ask the Lord to help me, guide me, give me inspiration. Yet it seems as if God is nowhere to be found. And in my mind I know the Lord never forgets his children, but my gut doesn’t seem to get the memo. In those moments I feel alone, on my own. And so I empathize with the psalmist today and pray for all of you reading this who are in that place right now.

Lord, incline your ear to me (to us); answer me speedily in the day when I call. Amen.