Finding Light in Disorientation: A Journey through Psalms 13
Oct 18, 2023Season 4Episode 5
Gabrielle Michelle Leonard
Drawing from the work of Old Testament theologian Walter Brueggemann, Gabrielle discusses the concept of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation as seen in the Psalms and in Jesus's life. These movements symbolize the human experience of comfort, crisis, and resolution. Brueggemann’s perspective emphasizes the realness and authenticity of the Psalms, which capture raw human emotions during moments of disorientation.
In this episode, Gabrielle creates a space for listeners to sit with and confront their feelings of disorientation, whether they stem from personal challenges or external sources like news headlines. She then guides listeners through Psalms 13, offering prayers and reflections between verses, encouraging those in the midst of hardship to lean on God and trust in His presence.
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Drawing from the work of Old Testament theologian Walter Brueggemann, Gabrielle discusses the concept of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation as seen in the Psalms and in Jesus's life. These movements symbolize the human experience of comfort, crisis, and resolution. Brueggemann’s perspective emphasizes the realness and authenticity of the Psalms, which capture raw human emotions during moments of disorientation.
In this episode, Gabrielle creates a space for listeners to sit with and confront their feelings of disorientation, whether they stem from personal challenges or external sources like news headlines. She then guides listeners through Psalms 13, offering prayers and reflections between verses, encouraging those in the midst of hardship to lean on God and trust in His presence.
New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly!
Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends.
Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/
For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media:
Hey, what's up Beloved's? I want to do something different. See these? Maybe last several weeks, we've been talking about movement, right journey, and more specifically this journey towards Sabbath rest. And this week, I found myself flipping through a couple pages of this book by Walter Brueggemann, who's a Old Testament theologian. The book is called the spirituality of the Psalms. And, and one of the, in part, he talks about the moves of orientation, that are seen in the Psalms, and really can be seen throughout the Christian narrative, and specifically, even in, in Jesus's life, orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. It says that there's psalms of orientation, there's psalms of disorientation and psalms of new orientation. It's very easily seen in Philippians, two, even when in refer in reference to to Jesus, where you see the orientation, that though he was in the form of God, right, that reference, then you see disorientation He emptied Himself, and the new orientation. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him, those three moves of orientation. He points out that the Psalms, specifically what makes them, part of what makes them so powerful, is the fact that they we have the words of real people that were that are no longer alive. And we have an account of the words they spoke the things they said, their communication with God, in moments of disorientation. And it gives us potential language, for showing up in that space with God and finding that in the midst of darkness, he is actually present. In his book, he says, that much of Christian piety and spirituality is romantic and unreal, and it's positiveness. Right as, as children of the Enlightenment, he says that we have censored and selected around the voice of darkness and disorientation that we seek to go from strength to strength from victory to victory. But that way, only ignores the Psalms. And it is a lie in terms of our experience. So when I say I want to do something different. What I mean by that is, I just want to create a space for you to be present in disorientation. And I just want to be with you, as God is with you in that disorientation and propose a way that we can be together in this moment, because I hear and I sense, the different disorientation going around us whether that disorientation is coming from headlines in the news, whether that disorientation is coming from betrayal, feeling misunderstood, unheard, unseen, lonely, having expected one thing of your life at this point, and being in the middle of something totally different. I know so many people are going I don't know what I'm doing. But I'm just trying my best. I'm trying to give what I have. I'm trying to stay above water. I'm trying to keep moving forward because I got people who need me. I got people who am who I'm trying to serve who I'm trying to love, who've I don't show up for who's who will. I just need you to know the Lord sees you. He sees us in this psalm is for you. So voice it with me. Voice in your own words. But let's sit in this disorientation trusting that the light is still with us. When I say that I'm actually referring to John chapter one, starting in void in verse four. When it says the word gave life to everything that was created in his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it. We don't hear about darkness being gone or eliminated right there. We just hear about the light being present and darkness being unable to extinguish it as you are removed are present in the reality of like darkness is present, it is not gone. Know that the one who is the Light Jesus who is the Light is also not gone, has power over the darkness and sits, stands, leads beside you, I encourage you to listen to this one, when you're in a position to where you can truly listen. And I think that it would be best served to be in the moment of it. I'm going to read verses from Psalms 13. And in between those verses, I will pray, I'll add new words. I'll fill in the gaps. And the attempt there is to not add to the word but to help you add your own voice, your own language, your own confession of the soul to God, or helping you as you step into an imagination of someone else who may be in this place. That's why I invite you even if you are not in a state of disorientation, I still invite you to listen. Because this would be a good practice. In stepping into a state that someone else may be in, to intercede for them, to express to God on behalf of them. Even if you're not there in this moment. But if you are there then receive and if you are not then join in. Let's read let's walk through psalms 13 How long oh Lord. How long? Oh Lord. God, we are waiting. We are waiting for your response. We're waiting for you to eliminate the darkness. We're waiting for you to eliminate and clear the fog. There is a sense that we have been here for too long. There is a a feeling like this has gone on for far too long. Time has surely passed enough time has it has to be enough. It has to be enough. Surely enough has been enough. And time has come to fullness. There's no need for any more waiting. Surely waiting can be done now. We confess our frustration with words and encouragement that say just wait on the Lord and back to it. We say how long Oh lord. Psalm said, the Psalm is says who we go, how long? Oh, Lord, will you forget me? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face for me? Go we confess that the time has ticked on for so long. We've watched the long hand of the clock move. We've watched it, tick and tick and tick. We've watched the same brokenness. We've watched the same suffering. We've watched the same injustice. We've watched the same fear overwhelm. We've watched the same cycles of brokenness, addiction. We've heard the same arguments over and over and over again and time goes on and on. And it seems as if you have forgotten and we say where are you? Where are you? Are you hiding? Do you want to be found? Where are you? First Tues? How long? Must I take counsel in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all the day? Are the things that are most present to us right now. Our own thoughts, our own reasonings our reasoning surrounds us so hard to fight back your own reasoning it's so hard to fight off the pain and the emotion that rises up to the surface. Our reasoning God has overwhelmed us. The voice that is cleared lead to be heard is the is my own voice in my head that questions where you are and when we will appear again The voice in my head is beginning to question my brother and my sister. It's easier now to assume to be skeptical of them and paranoid of what is next to come. We are paranoid. There's an unease, a tension, because the counsel that we're such aware of, is our own. How long must I take counsel in my soul? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Tired of the same battle? And seemingly the same defeat? Verse three, consider and answer me. O Lord, my God. Light up my eyes. Least I sleep the sleep of death. Consider and answer me O Lord, my God. Light up my eyes least I sleep, the sleep of death. gotta hear our desperation. This is a matter of life and death, life and death, math, the door of life and death and wondering about choosing death. Answer, oh, God, am overwhelmed. Death wants to consume me and if you don't intervene, it will. Verse For least to my enemies say I have prevailed over him. Lease my foes rejoice because I am shaken. Shake we are asking you to shake that which is trying to shake us the very ground where we walk on Phil's unsteady that if you don't answer, our enemy will assume victory. We will have to admit defeat. Fear not. Fear not. Just hear this word spoken over you Beloved's Fear not. Fear not. Fear not. First, fight five. But I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation, but I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation, your gospel, secures us, you will not leave us abandoned, you will not leave us alone. You've made this covenant with us, Jesus, that is committed, committed to pulling up out of the pit of despair. You've made this commitment, not only with me, not only with us, but with others who are not listening, who are also going How long, oh, Lord, you've made this commitment to them. For that reason, we've put our trust in your steadfast love, that that kind of love you provide that is radical, that does not make sense. That removes all the barriers, trying to prevent your love. You come rushing in verse six, I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me. Thank you, thank you card. God is in this moment you will provide the thing that is needed for each person listening right now for them to be able to transition. To that kind of confession. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me. Can we trust, your participation that we are being entwined with you as we vocalize these words of agony, these words of pain, these words of request these words of hope, these words of fear these, these expressions, we trust that that there is no better place than to express these things. Although painful, although imperfect, although not all resolved. We trust that it is a faithful it is a sound place it is a welcome to place it is a perfect place to be with you in the midst of these words, these words that are not just words, but these words that are representative of real experiences, these words that each of them sometimes words that are felt over a years. Answer oh god and provide what is needed so that we, that person, all of us will be able to confess I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me. move us to that place. move us to that place to sing move us there we cannot get there on our own move us to that place of a new orientation in Jesus name amen