The Stinch in Life

Lamentations 3The Message (MSG)

22-24 

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,

    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.

They’re created new every morning.

    How great your faithfulness!

I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).

    He’s all I’ve got left.

25-27 

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,

    to the woman who diligently seeks.

It’s a good thing to quietly hope,

    quietly hope for help from God.

It’s a good thing when you’re young

    to stick it out through the hard times.

28-30 

When life is heavy and hard to take,

    go off by yourself. Enter the silence.

Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:

    Wait for hope to appear.

Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.

    The “worst” is never the worst.

When we are in the midst of something heavy in our lives we can easily be distracted and loose focus.  An analogy that comes to mind is the following: 

Imagine you are coming home from a long day at work. You look forward to walking in your front door, taking off your shoes, and just breathing (for most of us it is very brief, but it happens).  As you walk into your home, you take in a deep breath and immediately realize that something truly stinks, literally STINKS!  You check the garbage, refrigerator, the garbage in the garage, the kids rooms, your dirty clothes hamper…NOTHING!  It is at that time you start to investigate all possibilities.  You rack your brain trying to figure out what is setting off this repulsive smell.  If you are like me, you won’t give up until you find the culprit.  It consumes your mind and activity.  

Now, take that analogy and replace it with an event that has been heavy for you.  God is faithful!  He doesn’t leave you alone to deal with that “stinch”.  He walks with you hand-in-hand.   He will face this head on with you.  You just have to pray, be patient, and be quiet while listening to Him.  Horrible situations will consume you, take you over until you are racking your brain to come up with a solution.  Or they will consume you to the point of where you start to sink into a dark place in life.  God didn’t create us to come up with solutions on our own or to sit alone in darkness.  God is what we have, and God is all we ever have that is guaranteed.  He does not leave our side!  

Be Blessed!