I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors. Guarantee your servant’s well-being; do not let the godless oppress me. My eyes fail from watching for your salvation, and for the fulfilment of your righteous promise. (Psalm 119: 121-123)

I have from time to time neglected or rejected God. In these times I have experienced the distance of God's restraint. But I have never perceived God as absent.

I have, however, lived an easy life. In the midst of cataclysm I might not be so confident. Surrounded by perpetual threats, death, and destruction would I still walk with God?

The psalmist is hard-pressed. The psalmist is impatient. The psalmist may be angry, certainly he is afraid. But the psalmist is actively seeking for God.

When my easy life has been threatened I have - so far - found that vulnerability brings me closer to God. When events dissuade me from pretense and pride, God is even closer at hand, almost certainly because I reach out farther.

Dear God preserve me from disaster, but if disaster comes please help me hold tight to you and whatever my weakness, please hold tight to me.

Above is Blue Elegy by Robert Motherwell. An Elegy is a mournful song as might be sung at a funeral.