What do you do when life seems to go sideways? I’ll tell you what David did, he turned to God. In the middle of his despair David took heart in the nature of God. In fact, his desperate prayer turned into confident worship. This is what he sounded like:
I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hands. (Psalm 31:14-15)
He realized that the refuge he sought was a thoroughly reliable refuge. The truth of “God is good” sunk into the depths of his being.
We can relate with that, can we not? Yes, we get stressed. Sometimes we feel like we live in a besieged culture – physically, spiritually, financially, socially, mentally. We may go through illness, anger, poverty, or any other evidence of our fallen world, and we may begin to feel like it will never end. The psychology of being “under siege” begins to affect every area of our lives. We seek God as our refuge, but it is a weak faith at first.
Yet, here’s what we need to be reminded of constantly – who He is. We must read psalms like this one and hear the witness of others who have been through similar circumstances and have seen God’s faithfulness. Somehow in the process – usually when we have no choice but just to give up – God’s power and faithfulness becomes real. We get a glimpse of who He is. That’s when trust turns despair into worship.
We all know that sooner or later, circumstances will overwhelm us. God will let it happen – even ordain it – to force us into a necessary choice. Will we trust Him or not?
There’s no way to mature as His follower without having to make that self-surrendering choice in the fires of a trial; having once declared our trust in Him in the past is not enough. God will let it be tested, and the only way some of us are able to come to that place of rest in Him is first to be absolutely overwhelmed.
Our helplessness will intensify until we realize: We can trust Him, and we must. We have no other reasonable option. We can let go and believe that all of our circumstances are His. It is then, we can relax, Take A Deep Breath, and let it sink in – God is utterly trustworthy.
Have a peace-filled weekend. Make it better by worshiping The Lord with those who have placed their trust in Him because He has proven over and over again to be their Refuge and Strength.
All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.
