He is There

Happy is one who cares for the poor; 

the LORD will save him in a day of adversity.
The LORD will keep him and preserve him;
he will be blessed in the land.
You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.
The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed;
You will heal him on the bed where he lies.      Psalm 41:1-3 (HCSB)

Lectionary texts: Isaiah 43:18-25, Psalm 41, 2 Corinthians 1:18-22, Mark 2:1-12

It’s late at night. I am up for several reasons. I usually work late at night as it’s quiet. I have several people on my mind tonight who have needs. In my human reasoning, I have no answers for these people but one.

When sickness comes, when relationships become tangled, when someone I love moves away or dies, when something happens in this life – that is just hard, I turn my eyes and heart toward God and cry out to Him. I ask Him for help. I ask Him for healing. And He always answers.

“But God didn’t answer me!” “I lost my job!” “My mother died!” “My baby was sick for a week!” “But I loved him! Why did he leave?” “Why did we have to go through this?”

The enduring promise of God is that He will never leave me. God is the perfect Father. He loves His children. He has been there, watching and waiting, all the time. From the moment I said “Yes” to Jesus, He moved into my life. Through the times of unlimited joy, my LORD has been there with the biggest smile, dancing over me (Zephaniah 3:17). Through the darkest, loneliest of nights when my face is flooded with tears, my Jesus is there to hold me and comfort me (John 14). When I cannot find the words, for whatever reasons, I can go to Psalms and find the outlet for my feelings. God has heard them all before. He’ll hear them again.

God will sustain when I am too weak, too tired, too confused. When the path He asks me to walk is long and steep, He will walk beside me every step. He will even pick me up and carry me.

God will refresh when I am dirty in sin, exhausted from trying to climb a mountain He never intended for me to walk alone. Jesus washed the feet of the disciples (John 13) to set the picture before me that He will wash the sin from me, all I have to do is ask. He walked the road, bloodied and torn, to Golgotha so I would know there is no road that He will not walk before me.

God will speak to me words of Life when the world chatters on about things that are temporary and just downright lies. God will speak only truth. His words will not contradict who He is. His words will encourage me and strengthen me. God’s truth will convict me when I have strayed but never condemn me when I return.

Oh, my friends and fellow travelers through this world, we struggle not against flesh and blood (2 Corinthians 10) so our relief from those struggles, our victory over those struggles, comes not from my flesh – but from my LORD. Are you struggling today? Then come closer to our Father. Sit down today with Jesus. Listen with your spirit to the words of comfort from His Spirit. He is faithfully there.