In the Middle

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  Psalm 34:18

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,” Revelations 1:8a

Last week was a hard week and I couldn’t sugarcoat it if I tried.  We lost two friends.  One died early in the morning and the other one in the evening on the same day.  It was devastating, to say the least.  Two viewings, two funerals, two families grieving the passing of their loved ones, and there we were, along with others, trying to comfort our friends and our church when we were at a loss ourselves.    Thankfully, both of these strong men were Christians and we knew that they were with Jesus.  That was our comfort and hope.

“Trying to make sense of the world around us seems to be getting harder by the moment.  There are too many sick and dying, too many questions and so much confusion. ”

— Kim Dockery

People asked how we were doing and we answered, “I’m good-we’re good.”  But what I really meant was that I was functioning.  I was not good.  I had too many questions and did not understand why God didn’t heal the way I thought was the best.  My head knew all the right things but my heart couldn’t connect.

Have you ever been there?  I’m sure you have.  Trying to make sense of the world around us seems to be getting harder by the moment.  There are too many sick and dying, too many questions and so much confusion.  People are anxious about leaving their house just to go to work and run the essential errands.  Then, there is the situation in Afghanistan, the catastrophic situation in Haiti, and the flooding in Tennessee.  How do we process it all?

I had to take a step back and evaluate what I knew to be true about my relationship with Jesus and the Word of God.  I couldn’t dwell on what was going on around me but I had to focus on what I knew.  I know that: 

1 - God does not shun the brokenhearted but draws near to them.  In fact, He saves the crushed in spirit and gives us rest.

2-No matter what is going on around me, God is good.  God is and has been good to me.  And, God is good at being God.  He is God – I am not.

3-I must trust Him.  God sees and knows all things and I have to trust Him, knowing and believing that He is Sovereign.

Before I give you number four, there is a song by Maverick City, “You Hold It All Together” which I have listened to over and over in the past few weeks.  The words say, “You write my story, you hold it all together.” While I love this song, I discovered that sometimes I don’t like the middle – I don’t like the story being written and I want to question God as if I could do or know better.  

BUT, I know that:

4-God is in the middle with me.  He is Alpha-Beginning and He is Omega-Ending, and it is in the middle that I need Jesus with me; and, it is in the middle that I know the faithfulness and goodness of God.  How?  I know by looking back on my life and all of the times He never failed me.

These truths are not just for me but also for you.  God invites you, in fact, He wants you to draw near to Him with your questions, anxiety, heartaches, fears and failures – God wants all that you are.  When all is said and done, He is the only One that is trustworthy and true that will be with you through thick and thin, no matter what comes.

---