This is pretty remarkable–you’d think that Max Lucado, of all pastors, would offer an encouraging word, delivered with a smile, about the economic woes facing people today. But instead, he delivers nothing short of a lamentation. The message, essentially, is that God has always promised economic woes, and we’ve always been foolish to believe anything else. Check it out:

You Have Our Attention, Lord

A prayer by Max Lucado – written in October 2008

Our friends lost their house
The co-worker lost her job
The couple next door lost their retirement
It seems that everyone is losing their footing
This scares us. This bailout with billions.

These rumblings of depression.
These headlines: ominous, thunderous-
“Going Broke!“ “Going Down!“ “Going Under!” “What Next?“

What is next?
We‘re listening. And we‘re admitting: You were right.
You told us this would happen.
You shot straight about loving stuff and worshipping money.

Greed will break your heart, you warned.
Money will love you and leave you.
Don‘t put your hope in riches that are so uncertain.
You were right. Money is a fickle lover and we just got dumped.

We were wrong to spend what we didn‘t have,
Wrong to neglect prayer and ignore the poor,
Wrong to think we ever earned a dime. We didn‘t. You gave it. And now, tell us Father, are you taking it?

We‘re listening. And we‘re praying.
Could you make something good out of this mess?
Of course you can. You always have.
You led slaves out of slavery,

Built temples out of ruins,
Turned stormy waves into a glassy pond and water into sweet wine.
This disorder awaits your order. So do we.