15/02/2023
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice." Philippians 4:4
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." I Thessalonians 5:16-18
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him." Psalm 28:7
It is tempting to read verses like these and take them as admonitions to just remember it could always be worse, thank God it isn't, then buckle down and soldier on in our own strength. We miss it so terribly when we do that.
These verses drip with invitation. Look! See! You're looking at all of the pain, the discomfort, the hurt, and the brokenness. That's there...but look what else is there! HE IS THERE!!
In the middle of a furnace of betrayal, injustice, and over-stoked flame, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found themselves in the presence of the Lord. Can you imagine the rejoicing when they looked and saw Him? The heat existed; the wrong had still been done to them; do you think it even mattered at that point? Or did wonder, awe, praise and thanksgiving just erupt from the core of their being?
In the dark and grime and depravity of a Roman prison, shackled to a wall, Paul and Silas knew the presence of the Lord and burst out in song. They got it. The power that exists in praise. The shift that happens when we acknowledge the earthly conditions, but then submit them to the spiritual reality.
He. Is. There. He has promised to never leave nor forsake us.
Last week, I found myself really down. I had been fighting an infection and had been prescribed a 2nd antibiotic. This one was a new one to my system, and my body apparently read the "possible side effects" list, and thought it was a list of instructions. Rather than getting better, I was significantly worse. I felt betrayed: by medicine, by my body, by the fact that I couldn't enjoy some really good family things that were happening because I was stuck in bed trying not to hurt. Physically, emotionally raw; spiritually struggling with the injustice of it all.
But the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts are powerful things. I was initially complaining and voicing the hurt, and venting my frustration...all the while, poisoning my spirit. I am so grateful for the gentleness of a loving Father.
He began to turn my gaze back to Himself. It started by simply putting a phrase of a song in my mind...which led to a verse of scripture...which led to a recollection of a moment in all of this mess where He had protected in a small way...and the more I submitted to the small moments of praise, the more He led me deeper. In the small moments when we are in the middle of a mess but we choose to trust his heart, we allow Him to help us walk toward hope; toward truly rejoicing.
I didn't feel better instantly. I didn't suddenly get back the participation in my family's plans the way I wanted it. I had to go through the physical healing process of my infection, forego my plans, and regain my strength. But in learning to rejoice in HIM, allowing the grip of the pain to release as I surrendered instead to the grip of His loving hand, I got to live in the same reality as Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Paul, Silas... so many others who have gone before. The reality that His presence brings hope, endurance, strength, and joy even when the physical circumstances haven't changed a bit.
We have a choice. We can surrender to the pain, hurts, betrayals, and injustices of this life. Or we can surrender our pains to praise.
