In the Hard Stuff
Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 106:1
I was recently reminded of a story I had heard about a man in a very difficult situation, afraid for his life as he felt a knife on his back while he listened to robbers rummaging through his stuff. What I most remember about the story is the man saying he would not trade that experience because of the closeness he had with Christ as he went through it.
He was a busy man with a wife and family. He said that if he thought about his family, his wife, or his work, he felt the knife carving in his back and the ropes cutting off circulation around his wrists. BUT, if he thought about God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, he was free of the pain. He felt God’s presence and not the presence of his intruders.
Difficult times come and go in this life. The story impressed me at the time because I was in a tough spot (emotionally, not physically threatening) that I was powerless to change. This man’s story reminded me that my eyes were on men and not on God. I was worrying about the power they were wielding and not looking at The Powerful One that could rescue me. Maybe the only thing I needed to be rescued from was my own fear and hurt feelings.
Right now I am in a bit of a funk. I don’t experience these feelings very often so I have a hard time knowing what to do with them. Grieved, unsettled, hungry because I decided to try to diet (what was I thinking?), and unproductive to some degree.
Last night, as I heard some people talking about the story of the man who kept his eyes and mind on Jesus in a really harrowing set of circumstances I was reminded of what my own problem is. I have taken my eyes off the purposes of God and desire the purposes of Beth. I should expect to be disappointed!
Isaiah 55:8 – 9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” This is a truth we all know and believe but we forget it when the circumstances aren’t what we would choose.
In God’s providence last night two men started talking about a man and a story I knew, one that He had used to help me in the past. Surely, His faithfulness and His steadfast love are evident to me. How is it that I ever doubt Him?
Today, I am going to try to keep my eyes off of me and place them on the Lord. What is He doing in my circumstances. What part of my character is He working to change or grow? I do not know but I am sure He is doing something. I will ask Him to show me and I will trust Him to do it.
What would you see if you placed your eyes on the Lord today and asked Him to show you what He is doing in your life?