Today I can relate to the Psalmist's desire expressed in Psalm 55: "O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest...I would hurry to find a shelter for myself from the raging wind and tempest." In the midst of this storm that is COVID-19, one of the most challenging things I find is the feeling that there's no escape. And then I think about the long pandemic of racism in this country, and the privilege I have as a white person to "fly away" from facing that reality whenever I want.
Here are the first 8 verses of Psalm 55. How do they resonate with you today?
1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; do not hide yourself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and answer me; I am troubled in my complaint. I am distraught
3 by the noise of the enemy, because of the clamor of the wicked. For they bring trouble upon
me, and in anger they cherish enmity against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;
7 truly, I would flee far away; I would lodge in the wilderness;
8 I would hurry to find a shelter for myself from the raging wind and tempest.”