So I said, “Here I come! I’m inscribed in the written scroll. I want to do your will, my God. Your Instruction is deep within me.” I’ve told the good news of your righteousness in the great assembly. I didn’t hold anything back—as you well know, Lord! (Psalm 40:7-9, Common English Bible)
“Do you want to go?”
One of my favorite ice-breakers to ask a group is to describe the first concert they ever attended. I cheat and give two answers: My family went to see the Osmond Family at the Iowa State Fair in the late 1970s, but my first “real” concert (sans family) was going to see Elton John with a couple of friends in 1984. I have memories of both of those experiences, but a concert that particularly sticks out in my mind was going to see U2 my sophomore year in college. The most memorable part that experience was how I got to go in the first place. I was in a fraternity and one of the other members knew I liked U2, but I wasn’t particularly close to this person. But he was taking a road trip to the concert in Kansas City and made the surprising offer to me: “Do you want to go?” I couldn’t say yes fast enough.
One of the hallmarks of a U2 concert up until around 1990 was their ending song: “40.” The lyrics of the song are based on Psalm 40 and, since I’ve been a Christian my whole life, it was another reason to be a U2 fan (the New Yorker called U2 a “semi-secretly Christian rock band” in a 2014 article). I’ve known the lyrics to the song for years, but I was reading through the actual Psalm 40 again and realized that I only knew U2’s version of it. The psalm is longer than I thought and was very formative for me last week, especially verses 7-9.
The beginning of the psalm (the part the U2 song also uses) has lovely imagery about God lifting us up out of mud and putting a new song in our mouths. But it’s a passage later in the psalm that stuck with me. There are three lines from verses 7 through 9 that I starting using as a mantra and I think might be helpful as we think about how we are responding to the responses to the George Floyd murder while also still dealing with COVID-19. The full verses can be found above, but the lines I’ve been using at different times of the day are:
Waking up: Here I come!
Throughout the day: I want to do your will, my God.
Before bed: I didn’t hold anything back.
My social media feed has been filled with suggested books to read, marches to participate in and petitions to sign. I’m glad white people seem to be more aware and engaged. But it can also be challenging to figure out what to tackle and where to start. This brief mantra: Here I come/I want to do your will/I didn’t hold anything back has been helpful for me to discern and pray before engaging. It centers me on God’s desires for my particular life and how I can use my particular gifts. I offer it as a suggestion as you navigate your way through these unprecedented times.
But, actually, maybe I’ll add one more segment to this mantra. Perhaps imagine Jesus ask you a question before using these phrases. It’s a question to sit with and I hope it’s a question you’ll immediately say yes to: Do you want to go?