This week Amy and I have been privileged to share the weight of some burdens that others are carrying. We have been blessed to listen and to pray while the gears of their lives turn. With them in mind (and you, if you have heavy loads today), I share some verses to remind all of you that you are not alone. This is no sanctified pep-rally, no holy rah-rah speech – this is rock solid truth that seeks to eclipse the loud roar of your present trouble. You have been here before and must recall to mind the ability and faithfulness of the One who leads you. He knows what He is doing.
“If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, “My foot slips,” Your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul.” – Psalm 94:17-19 {ESV}
The writer is not of the persuasion that to confess struggles and troubles is to admit defeat. It is silly, if not displeasing to God, if we pretend not to be stooped when life has laid its loads upon us. Where do we import the false notion that to be Christian is to live perpetually carefree? This line of reason defies the reality of the call to carry your cross and follow Jesus Christ, to deny self and embrace sacrifice, to postpone the temporary and pursue the eternal. While it is true that we have resurrection power within us, we must remind ourselves there is always a death before resurrection. The hammering of spikes came before the crunch of a stone being rolled away. Burial preceded ascension. Groans were heard before glory was seen. When God designs to bring new life to you and in you and through you there, of necessity, must be the death of whatever is in the way. Seeds never blossom unless they are planted deeply in tilled-up soil which is stirred by the tines of providence. When God intends to reorder what is out of order He often brings a shaking. When this happens in our own lives we sense the loss of balance, the forfeiture of control and the presumed instability of what might come next. Often we forget the trustworthy hands of the Plowman and that this is not the first time He has broken up ground in the life of one of His own, nor is it Him seeking to learn how bring in harvest from your life. He knows what He is doing.
Read the verses above again – slowly this time. Notice that the Psalmist felt like he was slipping … tumbling …falling. Just when he might have believed that he would topple, a mighty hand came underneath him and around him. Perhaps this stabilizing occurred moments before the writer thought he would hit rock bottom. Maybe God’s hand grasped him as soon as the loss of balance registered in the Psalmist’s mind. We simply don’t know when God grabbed him up but what comfort to be told that God did take hold of him and relieved him in his struggle. The last few words in those verses indicate the possibility that our lives will entail seasons of “many cares of the heart”. What other seasons afford us the opportunity to know the consoling of God? How do we learn the preciousness of His comfort unless we feel the piercing barbs of our own unease? It is all theory unless we are entrusted with a measure of pain; only after the inky midnight and hours that follow is the dawning of a new day most treasured. We must trust while we are in the dark but we can see when the morning comes. Sometimes God deems the development of our trust in Him far more valuable than the relief of our seeing that all is well. He knows that, whether we see it or not, all indeed is well because He is with us. When we believe this to be true, His consolations will cheer our soul. He knows what He is doing.
Your burdens may disappear before this day ends. They might intensify. It is possible that present dilemmas disappear and calm finds you via the strong grasp of a rescuing God. You might prepare your mind also that your present dilemmas might flee as new, different ones arise to come find you. No, you are not in control and if that presumed control is still an idol in your life then your burden is heavier than you know. There are many things that we cannot forecast, maintain or prevent. Sometimes we are at a loss.
But never Him.
He knows
What
He is doing.
I love that phrase “the tines of providence” … there is a depth to that which is worth further thought!
I am in much agreement about control being an idol and “being in more trouble than you know.”
Though certainly not perfect at it, I am resolved to the fact that my days are never going to be a continuous stream of what I deem to be perfect. The control idol was an exhausting roller coaster ride. I am secure when I focus on Who God IS. That is the only constant. Ever.
His strength is absolutely irrevocable.