I lie down and sleep:
I wake again, because
the Lord sustains me
Psalm 3:5
What does it mean to relax in God’s hands? Is it passive? Should I hum a merry tune and baptize myself Pollyanna? When things around me are falling apart, how do I trust God in the midst of the wreckage? Is concern the same as worry? Through experience I have learned to walk from seeing the wreckage towards trusting the Almighty. These are my four steps to move me back to God.
The first step involves remembering what God did in the past. Recall times when things fell apart and God plunged a finger in the midst of the whirlwind. Such as the day my parked car was flooded up to the door handles. Two men drove by while I stood outside my apartment, staring at my dripping car, waiting for the creek to return to its boundaries. The men pushed my car out of the water, onto drier land, where it dripped for rest of the night. The next morning, the car dried enough to crank. I drove it towards an auto repair shop only to have it die in the middle of a four-lane highway. When I exited my car to walk, the driver behind me got out of his police car and offered to help me get to the auto repair shop. I owned a flooded car and God provided help through three strangers passing by at the perfect moment.
The second step involves praying to remain on God’s path even when it looks rocky and difficult. Twenty-five years ago, a friend wanted a better job as a stock broker rather than a bank auditor. I prayed for her to have this dream job. When she accepted a new job as a stock broker trainee, I knew God answered prayers. Two weeks later, when she was laid off along with twenty other people, I wonder if God played practical jokes. My friend struggled for several months with fears of unemployment and the disappointment of seeking a career in a precarious field. When her finances became unmanageable, she begrudgingly took a job in bank acquisitions. She knew little about acquisitions and considered it a short term transition while she waited for something better. Her talents blossomed in this new field and multiple banks offered her stable employment. A career in acquisitions, which she never wanted, became the perfect fit for her life. Only God could have known this, and only a rocky road would have led her to turn down this unexpected path.
The third step requires accepting that God will break us so that he can mend us. This is the most difficult step. When we have bad habits that we and those around us find acceptable, sometimes God sees a boulder in our path that He wants removed. For me the boulder is choosing the good path rather than the godly path. I spent five years living in rural Africa, teaching Christian life skills to combat the AIDS pandemic which kills so many young Africans. I became determined to stay and work as an African missionary. For several years God opened doors for me to teach, meet people, and impact the community. Then the opportunities and money began to disappear. I was left with no choice but to sell my car and use the money to buy a plane ticket home.
I returned to my old pre-missionary job and resumed an American lifestyle. My heart was broken and I felt devastated that God would not allow me to continue such important work. In the past few years, while crawling out of my depression and finishing a degree in English, I realized the impact of writing and speaking. God has allowed me to make multiple mission trips to Africa, Jamaica, and Gulf Coast. I have met many fellow workers, and widened my understanding of mission work. God tore apart my good dream of being a missionary and gave me a deeper understanding of obedience and of reaching people in multiple ways.
The fourth step is to keep a journal of God’s work in my life and read it often. This is the easiest step and the one most likely forgotten. Never allow myself to forget how many times God’s fingers have been in the midst of the whirlwind. Never forget the rocky road may be the best road. Never forget the good path is not enough for the godly.
When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Ecclesiastes 7:14
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Ecclesiastes 7:14
Dear Lord, Never let me forget the whirlwind, the rocky road, and the broken heart are in your hands. Let me always remember your rod and staff are necessary tools of the shepherd. Let me rest in the midst of my struggles. You are my God and I am ever before your presence.
