So today, couldn’t we all use a little bit of normal in our topsy-turvy world? So often, we wonder what normal is because it seems so far away from where we are.
Worry presents as a nagging backdrop, and very bold fears fray the edges of our peace. Things that creep into the good spaces to haunt us as we forget the blessings that surround us. They come by the twos and threes, and yeah, some days they come like a marching army to take over the day. They become like obsessions that present themselves as mountains too high, too big, too wide, and too daunting to even care.
These are times we all need to catapult into a new day with a really big faith in our really big God, who holds it all in His hand anyway. Yeah, when life seems turned upside down, God is our stability. He’s our Normal when nothing else is. He’s our faithful when no one else is. He’s our Protector, Provider, Sustainer, Grace Giver, and unconditional lover, and in our weakness, we’ve got to know that He is our strength and shield. When our weakness presents its “What Do I Do Now” moments and we feel very insecure, unsettled, and much like David when he penned the words of Psalm 142, we need to respond much as he did.
He’s feeling very overwhelmed by his persecutors and circumstances, and reached a place of despair where he felt no one cared at all about his plight. Yet, he looks to the LORD for wisdom, and in Verse 5, he comes to his senses again, where he says,
“But then I pray to you, O LORD. I say, You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.”
David reached a place in his running from harassment where he just knew his God was His Lord and His constant loving, unconditional caregiver, surrounding him at all times, everywhere, behind and before. Covering him around and through, up and down, inside and out, his God had it all together in His safekeeping. His God didn’t change; His God was always faithful, and even when trouble impacted his day, His God was stable, always there, always caring, always providing, always protecting.
Let’s realize that even on our not-so-normal days, and in those not-so-normal moments, our God is our unshakeable sustainer and our “normal” even in adverse situations.
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” #alwayshope
