Israel, put your hope in the LORD. For there is faithful love with the LORD, and with him is redemption in abundance.
Psalm 130:7
I laid down the other day to take a quick afternoon nap; this in itself wasn’t that unusual. I typically hit a wall around 3:00pm so I’ll prop myself up with pillows and close my eyes to rest for a bit. But this day I didn’t do that. I set my alarm for ten minutes instead of my usual thirty and I laid down flat instead of propping myself up. Sometimes I like to pretend that I can make it all go away.
I haven’t slept in a flat position in five years. It’s not as strange as it sounds. Due to a series of surgeries to repair a ruptured artery, I have to sleep elevated now to avoid discomfort from the distorted blood flow in my brain. It’s a minor inconvenience pointing to a larger health issue that I can’t change.
Most days I handle my diagnosis relatively well, thanks to God’s grace. I get up in the morning and trust that God will take care of me and I go about my day. But there are some days when the weight of it all feels too much to bear. Those are the days that I wish I could turn back the clock. I wish this wasn’t my burden, and so I pretend for a quick moment that it isn’t.
I’ve felt this way before when I’ve said something hurtful that I couldn’t take back, when I’ve made a mistake that I couldn’t erase, or when I’ve dealt with a situation that I simply did not want to face. It doesn’t take long in a sin-tarnished world to experience circumstances that we wish didn’t exist.
But pretending doesn’t make it go away and it doesn’t heal a hurting soul. God is good and He is faithful to strengthen us through difficult moments. He gives us peace and comfort when we face challenges and hardship. He soothes anxious minds and calms the most sorrowful of hearts. But above all these, there is one more thing that He does that I cling to the most when I am tempted to pretend.
God redeems all things.
It is this promise that brings me the greatest hope. This promise means that what causes me the most grief will be what God will use to bring Him the most glory. It means new life will emerge from what feels like death. And it means that there will be a divine purpose to my pain if I am courageous enough to trust God with it. There’s no need to pretend when I remember that glorious promise.
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5
If you are heading into this week hoping your current situation would just go away, join in me praying today: Jesus, when I wish my circumstances were different remind me of your promise to redeem all things.
Here’s something else that might help with that:
Keep your Bible dust-free this year by joining my Bible reading community. In 2021, we’ll read through seven books of the Bible and half of the Psalms, and we’ll also walk through three in-depth Bible studies together. Click the link to join below and I’ll send you the plan!
