Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, 

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

“I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)

We are in a Humpty Dumpty moment, are we not? A moment when many of us worry that we might not be able to pick up the pieces. In our national politics, in our church politics, in our communities, and even in some of our families, it feels as if we have become so fractured that we might not be able to recover. The forces of alienation seem to be victorious over the power of community. Centrifugal forces appear to be overwhelming centripetal forces. Some people are angry and bitter; others are just overwhelmingly sad. 

The question is two-fold: Does God use Humpty Dumpty moments to do a new thing? And are we willing or able to see God’s work and love in the midst of our discouragement?

There came a moment in the history of Israel when the people were so overwhelmed by discouragement and sadness that they were unable to sing: “By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps.” (Psalm 137) They thought their story as the people of God was over. In fact, it was only beginning. God was doing a new thing in their midst, but they were not yet able to see it.

We may not be able to pick up the pieces, but are we willing to acknowledge that God works through our brokenness? Can we remember that God calls forth life in ways we cannot anticipate? Count me as hopeful. Our entire story is centered around the tomb, God’s remarkable capacity to rise from the darkness and do a new thing. Because we do not yet see it does not mean that God is not creating it.

Rev. Don Underwood