While
pondering today’s post...thinking about situations in life which
can feel overwhelming...I smiled at a previous post which came to
mind. It’s one in which I told of our young grandson getting
himself into a child-sized overwhelming situation. You may remember
it. Thinking to have big fun, he had dumped not one, but several
of his wooden puzzles into a big heap on the table. Immediately he
realized much work would be involved in getting the pieces into their
rightful places—and he lost interest altogether. Overwhelmed by the
situation, he left the table and suggested that I should be
the one to sort out the jumble of pieces! I decided, however, that
this would not be in his best interest. He needed to be taught the
importance of doing what was right (in this case- obeying Nana by
putting his puzzles back in order). I decided to encourage him in
this by helping him straighten them out. I placed one of the puzzles
in front of his chair at the table and sorted through the mess to
find all the pieces that went with that particular puzzle. He then
came over and started putting all of those pieces where they
belonged. We continued in this way until he had put all the
puzzle pieces back in their proper places. I was very pleased to see
everything nicely back in order- and so was he. :) What at first must
have looked like an overwhelming task to the little fellow turned out
to be easily overcome- with a little help.
Thinking
on this again put me in mind of how we, as adults, can end up in
overwhelming situations of our own- whether due to our sin or to
trials the Lord sends into our lives for our sanctification. Even as
Christians, we may become overwhelmed to the point of giving in to
discouragement or even despair. Regardless of how hopeless our
situation may seem, however, there is One who can help. In Isaiah
41:10 God encourages us with the following words, “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.” And just as I encouraged my
little guy toward obedience, so does God encourage us to choose the
right response in dealing with difficult situations of our own-
through obedience to His word. Proverbs 3:5-6 admonishes us to
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on
your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will
make straight your paths.”
If
we focus on our problem (no matter how big or small) and fail to
trust in the Lord, we will easily become discouraged and thus blinded
by our sin. (Giving
in to discouragement and despair is failing to trust in the Lord, and
thus a sinful response
to our trials.)
If we focus on the Lord and His Word however, we will
be encouraged by his promises and guided by His Spirit. In Isaiah
42:16 God’s word reads,“And I will lead the
blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not
known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into
light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them.” These
are the things God does for those who, by
His grace,
determine
“not to be wise in their own
eyes, but fear the LORD, and turn from evil’ (paraphrase of Prov.
2:6).
Just
as I did not put everything back to rights for our grandson, but
guided him toward doing what needed to be done, so too will God guide
us (by His Spirit and through His word) in the right direction- if
we seek His wisdom, “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his
mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for
the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding
the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints”
(Prov.2:6-8). James
1:2-4
admonishes us to respond to our trials in the following manner,
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet
trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith
produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
When
going through trials of various kinds, it is good to keep in mind,
that
God rarely
works
things out according to our expectations. [”For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
declares the LORD, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so
are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”
(Isaiah 55:8-9).] However,
we can be assured that...
in
the lives of His children… He
is working through every situation (no matter how overwhelming) for
our good--that
‘good’ being
conformity to Christ.
We
can also be assured that He can lighten the load of our burden just
as I helped to lighten the load of our grandson by helping him sort
through his mess. “Come to me, all who labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you,
and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light” (Matthew 11:28-30). 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells
us to “Humble yourselves,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he
may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him,
because he cares for you.” In
Matthew 18:2-4 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to
you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” May
we truly come to Him with a child-like faith and trust as we seek His
enabling power--to overcome any
and all
of our overwhelming situations.
