Do you ever feel like the earth is giving way beneath your feet and everything you thought to be true and right turns out to be sideways and upside down?
I love these verses from Psalms 46:1-5
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.”
They speak to me of comfort and strength in the midst of exploding circumstances. We find comfort and strength in God and discover our joy in his living water. We can face the day, with whatever it brings, because our feet and faith and eyes are firmly rooted in God.
Joy and sorrow are sisters who live side by side. And it’s okay. Because even when it seems as though I’ve lost my way, I stay secure because verses 1 and 5 are the bookends that hold up the messy middle that is my life.
Look at those verses again. Those are the bookends to everything that’s happening in the middle. God is our refuge, our strength, and very present to help us in our present. And we can know that on the backside of whatever it is we’re facing that God is in our midst, holding us up, and bringing the sun.
The Prayer.
Holy God,
You are forever mighty, forever good, forever our strength and refuge. We praise you! We lift your name and we choose to stand, today, right now, on your assurances that you are near. You are with us.
Lord, give us grace to face our middles: our middle of day messes, middle of the night messes, and the middle of life. We trust that you are faithful to keep your promises and that you do not fail. God, we love you, we glorify you, and we choose today to live for you with our whole hearts and our whole selves.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
