following Jesus in a year like 2020

today's passage comes from Psalm 13. 

read today's text

Looking back on the events of 2020, I remember having a lot of feelings. 
Spending half of the year being uncertain of what I can depend on and what I cannot was an experience that really shaped the way I viewed my dependency as a Christian and as a black woman. I remember realizing that there were less things in this world I could depend on because of my identity. 
Reflecting on tragedies that shook the world for months and engaging with the reality of the racism and injustice in this country brought up a lot of feelings; feelings of hurt, feelings of anguish, feelings of fear, and feelings of hopelessness. Not only that, I remember feeling like there was no way out of the darkness that was plaguing my soul. 
I needed a lighthouse. 
I needed a constant. 
I needed something to look to when it felt like my world had nothing worth depending on.

What do we do in a world clearly filled with brokenness?

Honestly, I don't have a list of things to follow.
I wish I did. However the answer is clearer than we think it is.  
Mostly, because the answer is one task. 
This hymn, one of my favorites, says it clearly:

"O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there
O'er us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conqu'rors we are
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
His Word shall not fail you, He promised
Believe Him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace"

As I was preparing for today's post, I spent time researching the origin of this hymn. 
There are two stories that contribute to this.
The first being that this hymn comes from two remarkable women named Lilias Strotter and Helen H. Lemmel. 
Lilias Strotter had just begun a career as an artist in London when she felt her calling by God to become a missionary in Algeria. She, however, was denied by all of the mission agencies that she applied to, and yet, decided to go anyways. Strotter ended up spending 4o years in Algeria, most of which were in isolation, where she learned to focus on Jesus. She wrote a larger poem which I recommend you read after this and will link below, but the most famous line of her poem is found in the chorus of the hymn (highlighted above). 
Helen, the composer of the hymn itself, was inspired by the life of Lilias and the poem she wrote to create this beautiful hymn. Helen was a famous songwriter and musician and spent most of her life writing hymns and performing them at churches across North America. Sadly, Helen was diagnosed with a condition that led to her losing her sight and eventually led to her husband ending their marriage. Yet in her tragedy, she sought after Christ by continuing to write and compose hymns. 
How marvelous it is that two women, although never meeting each other, were able to bring hope to a weary world through their words and music. 
If anything, their stories remind me that the one constant I can depend on in this life is the Lord. 
In my chaos, stress, tragedy, and isolation: Jesus remains the cornerstone. 
Knowing that this world will always be filled with brokenness is daunting. 
Knowing that God's promises are greater than the current trials we face is freeing. 

As the hymn states: "the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

A link to Lilias Trotter's Poem