As we explore the new normal we find ourselves in during the COVID-19 pandemic the Mount Olivet community has been sharing devotionals to keep our community connected. Here’s my offering for Wednesday, September 23, 2020, the day after The United States’ COVID-19 death toll surpassed 200,000 people.

Yesterday the United States’ COVID-19 death toll surpassed 200,000 people. In the coming days, we will surpass 1 million deaths worldwide. COVID-19 has killed more people in the United States than Americans killed in battle during the five most recent wars combined: the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf War.  It is difficult to put into words the anguish we feel for this amount of life that has been lost. 

In times like these we turn to the Psalmist:

Save me, God,    because the waters have reached my neck!
2 I have sunk into deep mud.
    My feet can’t touch the bottom!
I have entered deep water;    the flood has swept me up.
3 I am tired of crying.
    My throat is hoarse.   My eyes are exhausted with waiting for my God.

4 More numerous than the hairs on my head    are those who hate me for no reason.
My treacherous enemies,    those who would destroy me, are countless.    Must I now give back    what I didn’t steal in the first place?
5 God, you know my foolishness;
    my wrongdoings aren’t hidden from you.

6 Lord God of heavenly forces!—    don’t let those who hope in you
        be put to shame because of me.
God of Israel!—    don’t let those who seek you    be disgraced because of me.
7 I am insulted because of you.
    Shame covers my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my own brothers,
    an immigrant to my mother’s children.
9 Because passion for your house has consumed me,
    the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me!
10 I wept while I fasted—
    even for that I was insulted.
11 When I wore funeral clothes,
    people made fun of me.
12 Those who sit at the city gate muttered things about me;
    drunkards made up rude songs.

13 But me? My prayer reaches you, Lord,    at just the right time.
God, in your great and faithful love,    answer me with your certain salvation!
14 Save me from the mud!
    Don’t let me drown!    Let me be saved from those who hate me    and from these watery depths!
15 Don’t let me be swept away by the floodwaters!
    Don’t let the abyss swallow me up!    Don’t let the pit close its mouth over me!
16 Answer me, Lord, for your faithful love is good!
    Turn to me in your great compassion!
17 Don’t hide your face from me, your servant,
    because I’m in deep trouble.    Answer me quickly!
18 Come close to me!
    Redeem me!    Save me because of my enemies!

19 You know full well the insults I’ve received;    you know my shame and my disgrace.    All my adversaries are right there in front of you.
20 Insults have broken my heart.
    I’m sick about it.
I hoped for sympathy,    but there wasn’t any;    I hoped for comforters,    but couldn’t find any.
21 They gave me poison for food.
    To quench my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

22 Let the table before them become a trap,    their offerings a snare.
23 Let their eyes grow too dim to see;
    make their insides tremble constantly.
24 Pour out your anger on them—
    let your burning fury catch them.
25 Let their camp be devastated;
    let no one dwell in their tents.
26 Because they go after those you’ve already struck;
    they talk about the pain of those you’ve already pierced.
27 Pile guilt on top of their guilt!
    Don’t let them come into your righteousness!
28 Let them be wiped out of the scroll of life!
    Let them not be recorded along with the righteous!
29 And me? I’m afflicted.
    I’m full of pain.    Let your salvation keep me safe, God!

30 I will praise God’s name with song;    I will magnify him with thanks
31     because that is more pleasing to the Lord than an ox,    more pleasing than a young bull with full horns and hooves.
32 Let the afflicted see it and be glad!
    You who seek God—    let your hearts beat strong again
33     because the Lord listens to the needy
        and doesn’t despise his captives.

34 Let heaven and earth praise God,    the oceans too, and all that moves within them!
35 God will most certainly save Zion
    and will rebuild Judah’s cities    so that God’s servants can live there and possess it.
36 The offspring of God’s servants will inherit Zion,
    and those who love God’s name will dwell there.

-Psalm 69

 I invite you to pray this prayer throughout the day today, and in the days to come:

Almighty God, in Jesus Christ You showed Your power and glory by caring by healing people of all ages and stations of life from physical, mental, and spiritual ailments. Be present now to people who need Your loving touch because of COVID-19. May they feel Your power of healing through the care of doctors and nurses, technicians, hospital workers, social workers, and everyday people.

Take away the fear, anxiety, and feelings of isolation from people receiving treatment or under quarantine. Give them a sense of purpose in pursuing health and protecting others from exposure to the disease. Protect their families and friends and bring peace to all who love them.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Great Healer. Amen.

Grace & Peace,
Teer