A New Language

This verse at the end of Obadiah is a triumphant close to an otherwise difficult book. The bulk of the book is about God punishing the nations who wronged Israel, His chosen people. There's a lot about judgment. There's a lot about how these pagan nations will be punished in one way or another and then BAM! In the end, the exiles regain their land and the kingdom belongs to the Lord! Woo! We should be pumped. But, this verse happens to find me at a time when there doesn't feel like there's a lot to celebrate — on a personal and a national level. The past two years have been one crisis after another — between deaths of loved ones and marital issues and bodily injury — and that has left me feeling decidedly tired and un-triumphant. The past two years have also felt very polarizing for our country (the USA), as political wars between right and left have heated up and climbed to levels I thought were behind us. In the midst of all these tensions, I understand that there are things worth celebrating, but it doesn't feel that simple anymore because "Life demanded a new language," to quote Nicole Krauss from The History of Love. But, perhaps in the midst of finding a new language for God and my relationship with Him and what I think He wants from us, celebration will ensue.