Where are you?—March 28, 2007

It has come into my mind that you may not be where you want to be today. Not physically but in other aspects of your life. Maybe you’re not feeling well or maybe you are struggling with finances. Perhaps your job is sucking the very heart and soul from you and not the best French-roasted coffee can bring your life to life. I am in one of these places today. I woke up at 0310 this morning remembering the troubles I would be facing today. My first reaction was panic and fear. There is a loss of control in the place where I am at today. I don’t want to be here. I knew what I needed to do and, as always, it worked. What I needed was prayer. Prayer to a Holy and Almighty God who does not turn His back on us even if it feels like He has, He has not. He is there as He is always there. Though He is here and I know He is here it is hard to grasp His hand at times. When we lose control of some area of our lives it means we have to rely on someone or something else and that takes away our choices. We have grown up believing that we have to be independent and self-sufficient. This ingrained thought process causes us to panic in a claustrophobic manner when something in our lives crop up that steals the all-precious control from our hands. We struggle for breath and seek any means necessary to help us to get that control back. When we can’t get control back we run away and try to hide. It is better to run then to be left in a state of helplessness. I believe it was Milton who wrote, “It is better to rule in hell than to serve in Heaven”. Similar thought processes here… This running away can take many forms: drug use, alcohol, or plain and simple running away. I have to admit that I have wanted to, on more than one occasion, fly to a beautiful mountain deep in the Rockies and live a simple life free from the hassles of this life. The problem is that this kind of thinking is “greener grass” thinking. When you are where you do not want to be almost any grass or no grass at all, looks inviting. It is all an illusion, however. We live in a world that has been plagued by sin since around the time of creation and because of that life has become difficult, down-right hard at times. Difficulties are as much of a part of life as breathing. It will strike all of us at one time or another. That is a guarantee. Let me stop here and bring this to a conclusion by looking at this “bad” place that you or I find ourselves in. What if the struggles you and I are facing today are for our benefit? What?! How can troubles and lose of control be beneficial? Huh?! Well, if you would take a close look at the troubles that you faced in the past and look at where you are today, what would you see? What I have seen in my life is that there has been growth, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Growth! My friend Greg pointed out to me during our visit to his home this past weekend that our friendship has grown to where it is today during times of adversity. He and his family stood by us the entire time we were battling with Grady’s cancer and hospital stay. I have to say that he was right and it applies to all areas of our lives. It is good to have times of quietness, happiness, tranquility, and pleasure but those are not the times that help us to grow. In fact, when those times abound I find that I get soft and lethargic. I am not saying I crave the hard times but I have come to realize that God brings these times into our lives to test us and to draw us closer to Him where true peace and comfort comes from. So I have come to the conclusion that even though I am, right now, in a place I do not want to be I think it is a place where God wants me now because that is where He is today. I am comforted. You can take comfort in this place as well. Turn to God, confess your need for Him and you too can fell the “peace that surpasses understanding”. Bye!