Psalm 42:4-6a—These things I remember, as I pour out my
soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of
God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping
festival. Why are you cast down, O my
soul, and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
Sometimes it seems like our universe can do a complete 180
in the blink of an eye. It’s entirely unsettling
when we are moving along beautifully in our lives and then suddenly the entire
world has shattered around us. That’s
exactly what happened to me a few years ago, just before moving to
Savannah. We were living in Florida and
everything was about as perfect as it could get. My career was going well, my family was
healthy, my friends were faithful. And
then one day, my career was snatched out from underneath me. During that time, I felt so confused, and I
kept wondering how it happened. How was
it possible that Wednesday morning I was on my way to a promotion and by
Wednesday afternoon I was being told I had utterly failed. My brain, my body, and my soul did not know
how to process it, and I kept thinking about those wonderful times before noon
on Wednesday trying to understand how my world had turned so dark. Then one day, about three weeks later, an
overwhelming sense of peace settled in all around me, and suddenly I understood
that I was being prepared for something bigger, a particular mission God had in
place for me and my family. It was about
two days after that peaceful feeling that I was approached about moving to
Savannah. Had my world not turned upside
down, I would not have been where I needed to be to get that offer. And even if I had gotten it, I probably would
not have taken the risk at all. But God
knew all along what He was preparing in me, and He used all things, even the painful
things, for His Honor and Glory.
Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, think
about where you are in your life and thank God for all He has used to bring you
there. Can you genuinely say thank you
for even difficult times? If you
struggle to thank Him for the adversity you have endured, pray for
understanding and a grateful spirit to grow within you that you might joyfully
thank Him for even the most difficult times you have passed through in your
life. Pray that you might always trust
in His plan for your life that He will work everything together exactly as it
is intended to be.
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