February 7th

The God who works Wonders

                I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.                I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints. You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, and remember the years of long ago.

Psalm 77:1-5

            3am.  That’s my hour of despair.  I am usually asleep for it, but if I happen to wake up, I find it incredibly hard to go back to sleep as my mind starts running through troubles and disaster scenarios.  During the day I am highly proficient at compartmentalizing and figuring out what needs to be addressed immediately and what can wait until later.  The middle of the night, however, is a flood of fears and doubts.  I worry about the house and the kids and my job and my wife and money…then money some more then the church and the state and the country and how culture is spiraling towards destruction and how can we prepare our kids to face that with hope and integrity?  My eyelids will not close and my hands will not unclench as I consider the disasters that could hit my family from any direction.

I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy.    What god is so great as our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples.

Psalm 77:11-14

            The world and the dangers that it holds are bigger and stronger than I am.  No amount of planning or preparing will change that.  I was talking with a mom the other day who’s husband of over 15 years is leaving her and their autistic son because life is too hard.  She is devastated and she is worried about their future and she is filled with doubts about her role as a wife and mother in the past decade and a half…and she has hope because she remembers that God is bigger than all of this.  God promises to always be with her and her son, to take care of them today, tomorrow and into the future.  She remembers how God has provided money in the past and relationships in the past and houses and job opportunities that fit with the family’s needs.  And she has hope that this will be okay.

            God does not change simply because our circumstances do.  He is just as powerful and cares just as much for us the day before a crisis as the day after a crisis hits.  He is not taken by surprise when hardships fall.  He has actually been doing things in your life that prepare you to look back and say, “God took care of me then; He will do the same now.”

            3am may be a dark time for me, but it is the perfect time for me to remember that I serve the God who works wonders.  He is lord over physical health and financial balances and messy relationships and the natural world.  No one else who wants our allegiance even comes close.  And that Lord of wonders looks at His sons and daughters with love and compassion as He carries them through the trials of this life.

A moment to reflect:

When is your hour of despair?  Read Psalm 77 the next time your head and heart are flooded by worry.