It has been brought to my attention repeatedly over the last few weeks that so many people are suffering seemingly unbearable circumstances. I say 'seemingly' because our hardships and heartaches rise up and threaten to choke us. The weight of our battles press us down until we have no strength. We buckle under the oppression. Ruined finances. Persisting unemployment. Desperate loneliness. Severe depression. Broken relationships. Unshakable addictions.
In the midst of it, something nags at me. I have to think, "And yet..."
I've fallen prey to many of these disasters, and most of them just in the last 36 months. Depression that threatens my life. Finances that look so impossible we'll never know freedom again. Months of unemployment that I thought I'd never experience. Loneliness that takes my breath away. Disappointment on a mammoth scale.
And yet...
There is a light if I look for it. There is hope if I can silence the confusing babble of the destroyer. If I can just utter the words that take me back to my Savior, 'and yet' has significant meaning.
It means that there are those who refuse to buckle. As many of the Chilean miners did upon their rescue from the underground this week, there are people who raise fists high in the air and proclaim victory. Perhaps more than anyone, these people know the truth of Psalm 30:3. "O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit."
These strong souls encourage me, bless me with their determination to defeat the enemy. They tell me not to buckle. They remind me that I'm not alone and God knows each breath I take. He knows the ones taken from me, too. He is good and faithful and full of mercy. Whatever happens in this life, He is worthy to be praised.
Have you praised Him in spite of your circumstances lately? Tell us about it. What defeats the enemy more than a group of Jesus lovers uniting and shouting their praises?
And when another disaster seems imminent, remember: "For You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall" (2 Samuel 22:30). Let's start leaping, dear readers.
Lord, I love you. How much more is my love because you hear my voice and my supplications. Because you incline your ear to me, I will call upon you as long as I live. Even when death surrounds me and the enemy seems to close in, when trouble and sorrow call my name, I will call upon the name of my God. Deliver my soul, Lord! For you are gracious and righteous and merciful. Amen.
(A prayer from Psalm 116:1-5)
Many blessings to you,
Shelley
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