Life can be totally overwhelming. There is work to be done. There are bills to be paid, phone calls to make, errands to run, and people to meet with. There is always serving to do, diapers to change, mouths to feed, oil to change, and so on. In my life, I have been completely overwhelmed with my circumstances. I have been frustrated with not being exactly where I would like to be at my age, in my life. I have been disappointed, discouraged, and down-trodden. I have been unable to see the “light at the end of the tunnel”; almost as if I was in a cave - a deep, dark endless cave where not even an ounce of light can trickle in. It is hard to remain joyful there!! One afternoon I was meeting with a friend of mine over coffee. I had only just met this friend, but from the beginning, her unwavering faith in God was such an encouragement to me. We talked for a while about some superficial things – the weather, work, family, etc; and then she asked me how I was doing. I started out wanting to say that I was good and that everything was going well, but I stopped myself, because things weren’t going well. In fact, I felt as if things were falling apart. I started talking to her sharing little by little and adding more information when she wanted to know more. I was on the verge of tears. When she stopped me and said the words I will never forget. She looked into my eyes, which were starting to become blurry from crying, and she said. “Jessica, you have so much in your life to be joyful about. Just because things aren’t going very well right now, doesn’t mean you have nothing to be joyful about. You can be happy because you have Jesus. You can be happy because he loves you. You can be happy because he has a plan for you. You can be happy because you have people in your life who love you…” As the list went on and on, slowly I found myself feeling lighter as if a weight was being lifted off of me and I even found myself smiling. What I didn’t really realize until then was that I was so busy and so busy focusing on all the things in my life that were not going as I had planned that I was forgetting all the good things I did have in my life. Sometimes we get so caught up in what is going on in our lives that we forget that God is in control and that nothing comes to us that has not been through his hands first. Life can be totally overwhelming, but when we rest in God and who he is, trusting that he is in control over EVERYTHING; from the bagel you put in your mouth to the new job you are offered. God has his hand in it all. Take some time today to focus on what God has done for you and thank him.
“I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart. I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High” Psalm 9:1-2
“Those who know your name trust in you, for you do not abandon those who search for you” Psalm 9:10
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