I’ve been struck just this week by how broken our world is. Crazy terrible things have been happening to people I know. Death mainly, but sad, tragic, unexplainable death for people we can’t help but to label as “too young.” I’m reminded yet again of my own mortality. My husband, my family, my friends, myself – we’ve got no guarantee for another day.
“You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure”. Psalm 39:5
Ever since I lost a good friend in high school to a tragic car accident, God made my heart much more sensitive than usual. I’m sure it’s also part of an answer to my regular prayer that God give me His eyes and His heart for others too. I know it’s a blessing, a gift, to feel so hard for people, but it also is truly gut-wrenching sometimes. My heart breaks for those around me this week. Absolutely breaks. So much so that I actually feel physical pain in my chest when I think of what some people are having to trudge through – death of an infant, drowning accident, death after a stage in Indiana collapsed at a fair, damaged relationships, cancer diagnosis to a college athlete, dementia diagnosed to a nationally recognized coach. The tears just come automatically these days. I’m flat-out overwhelmed by the brokenness of this world.
Overwhelmed, but not overtaken.
Our sermon this Sunday was on bringing life under God’s control. The perfectly timed scripture is found in Proverbs 3:5-6. Many people know it. Many can recite it without much effort, but it’s packed full of such assurance, comfort and peace that meet me right where I am today.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Three clear directives for us to find one perfect path…
1) Trust in the LORD with
all your heart. The object of our trust is all important. We will be severely misguided if we trust in our riches, resources, religion, or self-righteousness. Anything less than complete trust, is no trust at all. We’re to trust in the LORD with
all our heart, including our emotions, thoughts, will, and actions.
2) Do not lean on your own understanding. Only God is in a position to know all the details. We have just a small snapshot of our life, but God sees and orchestrates the big picture. {Isaiah 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
3) In all your ways acknowledge {which is literally to “know”} Him. Know Him. Have fellowship with Him.
Delight in Him. Pay constant attention to His revealings. It’s almost as if God is telling us personally, “{Insert your name}, You can trust Me. Just know Me in all your ways. I love you, and I’ve got you covered.”
If we honor God in the daily process of life, even despite all the brokenness of this world, He will take care of the final product. I’m so saddened by the heartbreak all around me, but I’m overcome with thankfulness and reassurance that although this world is a sad, broken place, we have a hope and a future that will not disappoint {
Jeremiah 29:11}! Praise the Lord that one day there will be
no more crying, sadness, pain, no more brokenness.
Oh how glorious it is to know that “weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning {Psalm 30:5.}
