Reason #223
"I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." - Psalm 94:18-19
I overslept this morning. Forty minutes worth of alarm buzzing, forty minutes of wishing it was Saturday. My eyes burned. It was too early to be awake, actually, it was too late. I rushed to get ready for work. I hate when I'm running behind, which is really most of the time, but it still bothers me. I don't like being rushed, either. I ran down stairs, grabbed a bowl of cereal and some milk, and off to work I went.
I am a creature of habit. I do the same thing, in the same order, every morning. If I switch it up, I get thrown off. So, every morning, before I begin my work day, I read my daily devotional and look up the verse of the day.
I love the fact that the word of God is living and breathing, active and applicable to every situation. I love the fact that it is just more than words on a page. And most of all, I love when it strikes a chord with you.
This has been a reflective week for me. A week full of thoughts. Maybe it's because I am away from home and have the evenings to myself. Maybe it's because summer is coming to an end and I'm just processing through all that has gone on during this season. Maybe it's just because my brain is on overdrive.
I read the above verse this morning and, although I'm sure I've glanced over it before, the word cheer stuck out to me. I thought about it today. I thought about happiness, about cheer. I thought about God's love mostly.
Every afternoon, I call my mom and re-cap my day. We discuss what our day entailed, along with many other random topics. But today, we talked about God's love. About His grace and how greatly it abounds. We talked about how compassionate He is. How tender and merciful the Lord is to His children. And so often, we get Him wrong. We forget that His whole goal, His whole purpose in creating us was simply to love us. To walk through life with us. To take care of us. To know us and fellowship with us.
But here's the thing, sometimes life isn't so cheerful. Sometimes, it is. But the world is a deceptive place, and we are deceptive people. People who put up a strong front, a facade. And we pretend that cheer is the theme of our lives when really, it's not. Really, we're slipping. Attempting to grab on to the first thing we can only to find out those objects give way and nothing can save us. Nothing can secure us. The unfortunate truth is we gage love on happiness, on cheerfulness, on "feelings." And it's hard to be hopelessly in love, to be hopeful in any love at all, when you feel as if you're sliding into all hopelessness.
But I thought about my own life. I thought about the hopeless slip and slide, the fear of falling, the brave front I put on trying to trick those around me into believing that all was fine. But all wasn't fine. All wasn't fun. And the truth is, fun was never promised to me. But I so distinctly remember times I would call out to Him. Times I would be grasping for anything to hold on to and He'd grab me, secure me. Unfailing love. Love that would reach out every time. Love that never let go. Love that would hold on tightly even when I was trying to stubbornly fight it on my own. Love that didn't harm me or take advantage of a vulnerable soul. Love that comforted, love that was lavished on me, hopeful love that lead me forward and eventually produced much cheer. Consistent love that never, ever showed up a moment too late!
#223 - Because His love shows up right when you need it, never a moment too late!
"With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed." - Exodus 15:13
I overslept this morning. Forty minutes worth of alarm buzzing, forty minutes of wishing it was Saturday. My eyes burned. It was too early to be awake, actually, it was too late. I rushed to get ready for work. I hate when I'm running behind, which is really most of the time, but it still bothers me. I don't like being rushed, either. I ran down stairs, grabbed a bowl of cereal and some milk, and off to work I went.
I am a creature of habit. I do the same thing, in the same order, every morning. If I switch it up, I get thrown off. So, every morning, before I begin my work day, I read my daily devotional and look up the verse of the day.
I love the fact that the word of God is living and breathing, active and applicable to every situation. I love the fact that it is just more than words on a page. And most of all, I love when it strikes a chord with you.
This has been a reflective week for me. A week full of thoughts. Maybe it's because I am away from home and have the evenings to myself. Maybe it's because summer is coming to an end and I'm just processing through all that has gone on during this season. Maybe it's just because my brain is on overdrive.
I read the above verse this morning and, although I'm sure I've glanced over it before, the word cheer stuck out to me. I thought about it today. I thought about happiness, about cheer. I thought about God's love mostly.
Every afternoon, I call my mom and re-cap my day. We discuss what our day entailed, along with many other random topics. But today, we talked about God's love. About His grace and how greatly it abounds. We talked about how compassionate He is. How tender and merciful the Lord is to His children. And so often, we get Him wrong. We forget that His whole goal, His whole purpose in creating us was simply to love us. To walk through life with us. To take care of us. To know us and fellowship with us.
But here's the thing, sometimes life isn't so cheerful. Sometimes, it is. But the world is a deceptive place, and we are deceptive people. People who put up a strong front, a facade. And we pretend that cheer is the theme of our lives when really, it's not. Really, we're slipping. Attempting to grab on to the first thing we can only to find out those objects give way and nothing can save us. Nothing can secure us. The unfortunate truth is we gage love on happiness, on cheerfulness, on "feelings." And it's hard to be hopelessly in love, to be hopeful in any love at all, when you feel as if you're sliding into all hopelessness.
But I thought about my own life. I thought about the hopeless slip and slide, the fear of falling, the brave front I put on trying to trick those around me into believing that all was fine. But all wasn't fine. All wasn't fun. And the truth is, fun was never promised to me. But I so distinctly remember times I would call out to Him. Times I would be grasping for anything to hold on to and He'd grab me, secure me. Unfailing love. Love that would reach out every time. Love that never let go. Love that would hold on tightly even when I was trying to stubbornly fight it on my own. Love that didn't harm me or take advantage of a vulnerable soul. Love that comforted, love that was lavished on me, hopeful love that lead me forward and eventually produced much cheer. Consistent love that never, ever showed up a moment too late!
#223 - Because His love shows up right when you need it, never a moment too late!
"With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed." - Exodus 15:13