One year ago today—March 11, 2020—was the day things started to change dramatically here in America. I have several memories from that day: hearing that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were Covid-positive; hearing that the NBA put its season on hold and that various NCAA college basketball conference tournaments were canceled. It was surreal. The world was on edge.
But the day stands out in memory most because it was the last indoor, unmasked, semi-normal church service I attended. We were having our monthly Wednesday night community prayer night at Southlands, and boy did we need it. The 60 or so of us present at the prayer meeting were full of a range of emotions: fear, anxiety, disbelief, desperation. We prayed hard that night, and much of it remains a blur. But one moment I remember is when Bulus, a Nigerian leader greatly respected and loved in our church, got up to speak.
When Bulus speaks, the room gets silent and attentive. And on this night, Bulus had the right words. He recited Psalm 46 from memory:
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
The words of Psalm 46 rung in my ears as I drove home that night, listening to scary headlines on NPR. It was only the beginning of a stretch of anxious weeks when I would return, almost daily, to the words of Psalm 46 and their reminder of our ever-present help in trouble. The Psalm continues to be a stabilizing source of peace for me, one year into the pandemic. Maybe it can be for you too.
Check out a few musical versions of Psalm 46 below, as well as a short devotional reflection from Tim Keller: