Reality Check

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19 (New King James Version)

I have been spending some time in the Psalms this morning. I didn’t want to leave! The Lord was reminding me through David’s words that life is full of trouble and He is the only true Deliverer. While difficulties marked his path, praise flowed from his lips. Countless times he asked God to forgive, deliver, preserve, protect, and defend him. His was not an easy life but he knew where to take every uneasy aspect of it. He knew how to pour his heart out to God. When circumstances over whelmed him, enemies attacked him, fear consumed him, sin ruled him, friends abandoned him, and afflictions accompanied him, he brought it all to the throne of grace and allowed God to bring peace, rest, and delight to his soul.

When I started on this journey six years ago, I had a lot of misconceptions. I thought I could get to the point where the hurts and hassles of life would no longer affect me. I thought it was possible to live without pain, disappointment, loneliness, and emptiness. And when that did not happen, I struggled with thoughts of failure and wondered what I was doing wrong. I looked at individuals whom I THOUGHT had nothing but good days, who handled every situation correctly, and experienced only joy, satisfaction, and victory every step of the way. I desperately tried to accomplish the same thing in my own life and couldn’t do it. How naïve I was! There are no such people on this planet.

My premise was all wrong. Life is full of trouble and I am the cause and recipient of some of it. We all are! As long as we possess a sin nature and live in a fallen world we are going to experience heartache and failure in one form or another. But that does not mean that is all we will experience. In the midst of any storm, God is the anchor of our soul. He is our deliverer, healer, restorer, and constant companion. He longs to strengthen us, dry our tears, comfort our hearts, and renew our spirit. But that will not happen if we remain at arms length. It starts by acknowledging the truth about ourselves and our circumstances as well as the truth about God. Pour out our hearts to Him, YES, but also proclaim His attributes! Psalm 18 is an excellent example of how to do just that.

I invite others to learn what I am learning. The abundant Christian life does not mean the absence of sin, heartache, and trouble. It means knowing Who to take it all to. It means learning to cry on God’s shoulder, seek His counsel, and follow His heart.

Father, I am between the Garden and Heaven therefore I need Your grace, mercy, strength, direction, and protection every step of the way. My needs are constant therefore my dependency upon You must be constant as well. Amen.

Help Me God - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-wL7KWO8Ys

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.