God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Psalm 46:1-3, NIV*
This is one of those classic comfort passages. I heard it read at a recent meeting, and it started my mornings for the next few days.
Part-way through the first day, an idea came to mind that really helped my outlook, and seeing these verses in print the next day showed me where it came from.
Yes, there is stress here. But God is here too.
God is “ever-present.”
I knew that. I really did.
“Therefore we will not fear…” Whatever may happen in the future.
I knew that too, although it’s a challenge, and I’m pretty good at reminding myself “Jesus will be there.”
But what about the present? Our family is in a moderately stressful season. I tend to over-focus and make it worse than it is (hence all these stress/gratitude posts… they’re what God is saying to me because they’re what I need to hear).
I’ve been hanging onto God, trusting Him to provide a solution. That’s good. But time is passing and I’m still stressed. I want to rest in Him, be at peace and anxiety-free in the waiting.
Intentional, relentless thanksgiving helps. So does praising God for who He is.
Still there are a lot of “moments.” Perhaps accepting that fact is a step on the journey.
I think I’ve been seeing my stress level as a sort of pass/fail in how well I’m trusting God. On one level, it is: am I serene in Christ, or panicking?
But real life is stressful. Noticing that fact isn’t failure. Remembering that God is in it with us is success.
Faithful God who promised to never leave us, God of mercy, love and justice who is mighty to save, teach us to rest in Your character and rely on Your presence. No matter what this moment holds. Or the next. Yes, there is stress. But You are here. Right now. With us. In that will we rest.
∞
Jeremy Camp’s song, “Right Here,” reminds me that’s where God is.
*THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“But real life is stressful….. Remembering that God is in it with us is success.” You’ve said it so well. The stress is very real and painful, and God’s presence is also very real. Hebrews, chapter 11, gives us a long list of God’s children who faced all sorts of fears and death. In all their stresses, they remembered God, and knew that somehow He would work all things out.
As we remember who God is and what He has done for us already, we know that somehow or another He will work all things well. That process is so stressful because we have no control — but God does. He is the Potter and we are the clay. We don’t know what God is making of us, but all the other things in His creation are awesome beyond description. There’s amazing grace mixed in all this stress.
Thank you for posting this.
Remembering God, and knowing that somehow He’ll work it all out. That’s the key. And not building problems bigger in our heads. I’m talking to myself on this one!
Janet, embracing/feeling the stress when there are stressful circumstances is healthy and helpful I think. We can spend energy fighting the feeling or just accept that it is perfectly normal when things are difficult. God WILL work it all out. Be encouraged dear friend. Being helpless and humanly hopeless opens up room for God to move in power. I pray that the storm soon passes.
Isaiah 41:10
English Standard Version (ESV)
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand
Thanks, Belinda! It was a new insight for me that fighting it only makes it worse. God is good, and He loves us. That’s what will make the difference.