The people of Jerusalem have been uprooted, removed from the land of their fathers and mothers, as the king of Babylon has destroyed not just their city but also its buildings, its temple, their homes, and their places of business. Except for a small remnant, they are dragged into exile. To their disbelief, they are asked to sing their beloved songs in praise of their God for their captors’ amusement. But how can they sing the Lord’s song in this strange land? Yet if they do not, how will they remember from where they’ve come, to whom they belong, and whom they worship and maintain their determination to return to? Has their God abandoned them?
Today, other people are experiencing much the same thing. They have been torn from their homelands and forced to travel mile after destructive mile to find a place of refuge.
They flee from where there is no place for them, where the leaders have no concern for them or their pain. Yet they know they must persist, believing in the Lord God who answers prayer and cares for the least of them. They sing their songs in praise of God despite the pain it causes. They walk on, seeking new homes, places of respite and solace, with hope in their hearts and faith that they will get through to a place of rest and respite. Hungry, thirsty, afraid, burdened with little ones, they persist believing that God is indeed with them and is guiding them.
All of us have suffered in this way. We have felt lost and abandoned, but God has always come through for us. The Lord God, Jesus Christ, walks with them, clearing the way. Let us walk with them.

Diana L. Hayes
Diana L. Hayes is professor emerita of systematic theology at Georgetown University and the author of numerous books.