"Terror on every side"

For some people, Christianity is all happy happy joy joy.

Their favorite Scripture passages are all happy and comforting, they only listen to upbeat Christian music, and open their ears only where never is heard a discouraging word.

For others, life is nasty, brutish, and short.

And sometimes, life seems to be a never-ending disaster.

Yet no matter how bad things may be, as we hear in today's first reading (Jeremiah 20:10-13) and today's Responsorial (Psalm 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7), the word of God is there with us and the power of His grace can pull us forward.

The breakers of death surged round about me,
the destroying floods overwhelmed me;
The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,
the snares of death overtook me.

In my distress I called upon the LORD
and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.