A schoolteacher teaches. A writer writes. Both of those demand more of me sometimes than I am able to give.
Post-election 2024 is one of those times. The past few days I have shut out the noise and returned to the two things that have seen me through other heartbreaking moments in my life: the Word and the Music.
I found a new anthem in Norwegian composer Kim André Arnesen’s “Even When He is Silent.” The lyrics’ history is worth a read if you are so inclined.
I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.
I believe in love when I feel it not. I believe in God even when He is silent.
I also discovered a new depth to one of those Old Testament books that often gets glossed over in Sunday morning and Wednesday night Bible class, words from a minor prophet who wrote of troublesome things and what he perceived as God’s silence.
Habakkuk: How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Why do you make me look at injustice? What do you tolerate wrong?
God: Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak…. It is covered with gold and silver, there is no breath in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
I made a conscious choice this election to not be silent, for valid reasons. I accept now that the pattern of character and historical concerns I presented did not matter to over fifty percent of the country.
For now, Yo-Yo Ma’s cello will soothe. And Habakkuk will forever be elevated to new heights in my Bible Hall of Fame after a timely rereading of his Old Testament book.
“The Sovereign Lord is my strength...” May the Lord bless us and keep us and lift His countenance upon us and give us peace.
Snyder, Texas, native Sue Jane Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher whose thought-provoking commentary appears occasionally in several West Texas newspapers, including The Texas Spur and The Caprock Courier.
