In such a time as this

Photo by Gary Ellis on Unsplash

I lift up my eyes to the mountains –
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

We live in 'interesting times', as the Chinese proverb puts it. One the one hand, COVID-19 is spreading at an alarming rate. Recent restrictions imposed on daily life in the attempt to halt the progress of the virus have yet to have any measurable effect. On the other hand, the rapid roll out of the vaccination programme is encouraging. There is at least some hope that in the coming weeks or months the relentless spread of the virus might be slowed down to a manageable level. 

At times such as this it is difficult to know what to think...how to act...what to do...what to say? 

Psalm 121 suggests we might do worse than to try raising our eyes from our immediate surroundings to the hills above and beyond. These ancient words that have inspired hymn writers and composers down the centuries offer wisdom as the journey of 2021 unfolds.

We are not the first generation of humans to face the dilemma of times such as these.