Even in Disappointment
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18 NIV)
In a way, this may seem like a trivial illustration, but it is relevant. The last day or so, I've been on a mission: to go shopping. Specifically, to look for much-needed items for our village food pantry. Even more specifically, bread, eggs, and toilet paper. The last of these, as many of you have experienced, has been difficult to find. However, by the grace and mercy of God, I was able to find a small number of stores that still had toilet paper on their shelves, and was able to buy a limited number at a time for the food pantry. At other places, I walked in, expecting to find toilet paper, but finding empty shelves instead. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Not for myself, but for the people who would be unable to have toilet paper, and probably really needed it.
We have all been experiencing a number of disappointments since the outbreak of this pandemic, and the various ways our governments have been attempting to combat it. We have been short on certain supplies. We have been forced to change our routines, limiting our time and activity outside. We have had to limit, or even eliminate, our physical social contact, even with family and close friends. We have had our access to medical treatment limited. We have had our hours cut back, or even been let go from our jobs. We have been struggling with having our children home all the time, or trying to find available daycare for them when we have had to work. We have been struggling with changing realities at our jobs, especially with changes to the routine. All of these have been a disappointment in some way or other.
Yet today, we have the promise from God Himself: that He is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. God is with us even in disappointment. He reminds us that He is with us at every moment, even the disappointing ones. He does not cause disappointments to happen: we live in a sinful, imperfect world, which is why they happen. However, God can use the disappointing moments to bring us closer to Him, and strengthen our reliance on Him even more. He is also reminding us that there is hope: He brings us hope, because He will bring an end to this pandemic, and everything it has caused. He established this hope long ago, when He caused His Son to rise from the dead after being crucified, showing that He has power even over death itself, and that nothing is hopeless. He is even nearer to us than before when we are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. In all our disappointments, God is still here, closer to us, to comfort us, provide for us, and bring us hope.
Dear God, thank you that you are with me at every moment, both in times of joy and disappointment. Help me to rely on you for help and strength. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18 NIV)
In a way, this may seem like a trivial illustration, but it is relevant. The last day or so, I've been on a mission: to go shopping. Specifically, to look for much-needed items for our village food pantry. Even more specifically, bread, eggs, and toilet paper. The last of these, as many of you have experienced, has been difficult to find. However, by the grace and mercy of God, I was able to find a small number of stores that still had toilet paper on their shelves, and was able to buy a limited number at a time for the food pantry. At other places, I walked in, expecting to find toilet paper, but finding empty shelves instead. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Not for myself, but for the people who would be unable to have toilet paper, and probably really needed it.
We have all been experiencing a number of disappointments since the outbreak of this pandemic, and the various ways our governments have been attempting to combat it. We have been short on certain supplies. We have been forced to change our routines, limiting our time and activity outside. We have had to limit, or even eliminate, our physical social contact, even with family and close friends. We have had our access to medical treatment limited. We have had our hours cut back, or even been let go from our jobs. We have been struggling with having our children home all the time, or trying to find available daycare for them when we have had to work. We have been struggling with changing realities at our jobs, especially with changes to the routine. All of these have been a disappointment in some way or other.
Yet today, we have the promise from God Himself: that He is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. God is with us even in disappointment. He reminds us that He is with us at every moment, even the disappointing ones. He does not cause disappointments to happen: we live in a sinful, imperfect world, which is why they happen. However, God can use the disappointing moments to bring us closer to Him, and strengthen our reliance on Him even more. He is also reminding us that there is hope: He brings us hope, because He will bring an end to this pandemic, and everything it has caused. He established this hope long ago, when He caused His Son to rise from the dead after being crucified, showing that He has power even over death itself, and that nothing is hopeless. He is even nearer to us than before when we are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. In all our disappointments, God is still here, closer to us, to comfort us, provide for us, and bring us hope.
Dear God, thank you that you are with me at every moment, both in times of joy and disappointment. Help me to rely on you for help and strength. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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