Psalm 36:5-12
"Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your rivers of delight. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see. Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you; give justice to those with honest hearts. Don't let the proud trample me; don't let the wicked push me around. Look! They have fallen! They have been thrown down, never to rise again."
Me and many other people I know have trouble really believing this at times. It's a struggle to find that shelter. We get so caught up in the disappointments involved with our daily lives, that there seems to be little time and thought put into searching out what God has to offer.
As humans, we naturally want to be in control of our lives and be able to dictate how we should feel about what happens to us. It's a struggle to give up that control. It's this desire for control that hinders us from truly seeking out "shelter in the shadow of His wings." We think we can do it on our own.
We know in our heads as Christians that God only wants the best for us and He can see the big picture of our lives. It's transferring that head knowledge to our hearts that's the problem.
Knowing and believing are two completely different things. I know many things from having been around this world for a long time. Do I believe everything I know when it really comes down to it?
Do I believe that God can offer true peace of mind?
Do I believe that it's okay to give up the control of my life to the God who made me?
Do I believe that God has my best interests at heart?
Do I believe that God really has a plan for me?
Do I believe that God loves me?
Do I believe that God can take away the hurt, disappointment and pain in my life?
Do I believe that there is safety in that shelter?
Do I believe that things will truly get better if I gave up control of my life?
When those disappointments in life come, how do you respond? Do you find the shelter that's talked about in Psalm 36, or do you continue to try to make it on your own while fighting and possibly losing battle after battle?
1 comment:
This is slightly tricky to answer, as there's a lot of 'depends' in there.
Sometimes I'll trust God, sometimes I won't. With Sarah's death we lost our automatic assumption that everything would be perfectly fine here and now because God would look after us. But I've come to believe that whatever I'm going through right now, I will if I try to follow Him with the grace I'm given, eventually come through in a way which is pleasing to God and therefore good for me.
Doesn't always quite feel so easy though.
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