Tag: difficult days

Adjusting

Have you ever had your life turn upside down with little warning?

Honestly, having a warning doesn’t really seem to help anyway. It’s all hard. It could be a death, a debilitating illness, a job loss, a change in schools, a new boss or _________________________ (fill in the blank.)

How we adjust to what is in front of us is important. And we cannot expect to always do it with finesse.

How do you typically respond to a big change that isn’t welcome? In my younger years, I was quite reactionary. I dwelled, I stewed, and I was very verbal about all of my processing. As time has marched forward and I have encountered more difficult situations, I have learned how to pace my response. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel my feelings (anger, frustration, disappointment, sadness, etc.) I do. But I have learned to pause. I don’t have to have an answer or solution immediately unless it is a 911 emergency. I can take the time to regroup. For me, the most essential way to adjust and calm my system down is to take time with God — not only at that time, but ahead of that time. The work before really paves the difficult roads to be a little calmer.

This isn’t to say there aren’t difficult days or the “Why God?” questions. Of course, there are. But I know God can handle all of those. And He knows that I want to see His work in difficult situations. I want to see the hope that He can show and the glimpses of good and beauty that can arise from dark days.

Loss is difficult — when we lose our place, our people, or our health it takes time to adjust. But there is no better place for me to go than to God to have my perspective adjusted. He always sees and knows the bigger picture. And as I try to sort out the incomprehensible things in my brain, He doesn’t expect me to understand it all. He simply asks that I lay these disappointments at His feet and that I follow Him for my next steps.

As I wake up each day, I ask God to be with me as I move through the day. Yes, I have a general plan, but I know that is just a plan. God is the one who really knows how the day will unfold and I trust Him to walk beside me every step of the way as I adjust to the situations that come my way.

We make our own plans, but the Lord decides where we will go. Proverbs 16:9 CEV

Righteousness and Justice

9 You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
    you founded the world and all that is in it.
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,
    and by your favor you exalt our horn.[d]
18 Indeed, our shield[e] belongs to the Lord,
    our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once you spoke in a vision,
    to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
    I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David my servant;
    with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
    surely my arm will strengthen him.
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;
    the wicked will not oppress him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
    and strike down his adversaries.
24 My faithful love will be with him,
    and through my name his horn[f] will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
    his right hand over the rivers.
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
    my God, the Rock my Savior.’
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,
    the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.
29 I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure. [Psalm 89:9-29, NIV]

We don’t see what God sees. And we surely don’t define things the same way God does. Unless we are rooted in Scripture ourselves and are regularly connected to a healthy, Biblical perspective, we only see what we see or what others tell us they see. And all of those things we know come from a flawed perspective. Ever listen to two or more people describe an incident and everyone is compelling but each story is so different? It would do us all good to start out with, “From my point of view…” or “The way I see it at this moment…” because a slightly different angle almost always gives us new information to consider.

But when we go back to the source, or the author of the concepts, and seriously consider the words, that is where we really see the intentions.

Are you hearing some words and phrases these days that don’t seem to add up to God’s definition or perspective? I would like to encourage you to not take the world’s word on what is what. Even when, and especially when, the world is loud and disruptive, consider the source of the definitions.

We are in the midst of difficult days for a number of reasons. But God is with us in every step.

 “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”
2 Chronicles 20:12

May we fix our eyes on our Creator and follow His lead!

God’s Peace!
Liz