Behold, you have made my days as handbreadths,
And my lifetimes as nothing in your sight;
Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.
Surely every man walks about as a phantom;
Surely they make an uproar for nothing;
He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
Psalm 39:5,6(NASB)
David was a shepherd king, a counselor to those discontented, distressed and in debt. He had learned lessons on his journey from the open fields to the halls of the palace. And he had struggled like his flock …hiding and on the run from his enemies and the Lord! David was greatly afflicted because of his sin, and knew the heartache of being abandoned by those closest to him. He understood suffering…death and grief were his companions. But a man after God’s own heart, he was determined not to turn away from the hard. His anxious nerves settled as he learned who his supply was! David trusted God, his life was merely a breath in the larger scheme of things. And God eventually turned his mourning into dancing.
I am bent over and greatly bowed down;
I go mourning all day long…
I am benumbed and badly crushed;
I groan because of the agitation of my heart.
Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
And the light of my eyes , even that has gone from me.
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen stand afar off.
Psalm 38: 6, 8-11 (NASB)
The Lord chases after us as well and climbs over our walls. We turn to run and flee the feeling; slipping and sliding on cold, we fall face down on frozen. Begging for the warmth that lies beneath, the numb burning of our cheek pressing into the groaning that cries from below. The mystery dark and deep lives here. God shifts the shadows where our hurt lives. We’re more awake…alive…on this cold sheet…the cracking ice of yesterday! We stir and rise, wrapping ourselves in bittersweet winter. It’s the turning point…acknowledging the truth. The pain is necessary; loss and grief expressed. Nothing is hidden from the Lord. He will redeem our sorrow….beauty for ashes…feeling for frozen!
Realize the possibilities…our help is on the way! The tight place or delay is often a mess on the way to our mission. Silence does not ease our pain, and the busy rushing ends in nothing. Yahweh comes close and penetrates our defenses. We fall flat, and can’t escape His knowing eyes. Longing for intimacy, He rescues, forgives, and calls us to serve…the unworthy….just like us! This is grace so undeserved!
Inhale and exhale…a mere breath… you are alive! Acknowledge the frozen…and then embrace God’s truth! Be diligent to enter His rest…
Lily Mae
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