Read Psalm 80:1-7.
Humans crave connection. We desperately need to know that, amid a precarious world, there are systems and people that respond to our needs. More than that, we desperately need to know and have faith that we belong to God and that we can rest within God’s presence.
Edward Tronick is a developmental psychologist known for conducting “the Still Face Experiment.” In this experiment, a mom was asked to sit down with her young baby. The mom engages the baby, plays with them, smiles at them, loves them as they normally would. Then, the parent is told to NOT respond to the baby, but instead take on a still face. No more playing. No more smiles. No more response. The baby quickly picks up on the drastic change in disposition and does everything in its power to elicit a loving response again. Eventually, the baby becomes distressed by this abandonment, this lack of connection.*
We see this with the psalmist and our own relationship with God. We know that God is enthroned and sovereign over the world. We know that we depend on God. Sometimes, we may fear that God is disconnected from our lives.
Throughout this psalm, we hear this powerful motif: “Restore us, O God of hosts; make your face shine so that we can be saved.” God’s face does shine upon us, and we shall be saved. And we know this throughout the Christmas season through God’s incarnation and Christ’s birth.
Pray
May the Lord bless and keep us. May the Lord’s face shine upon us. May the Lord’s countenance rest upon us and grant us peace.**
John Golden
Former Campus Minister, UKirk ETSU
* To see more about this experiment, watch this video from the University of Massachusetts.
** Prayer adapted from Numbers 6:24-26.
Words for Waiting 