Sunday, March 11, 2012

God Provides Refuge In Trying Times

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. -- Nahum 1:7

Life is what happens while you’re making plans. I’m not sure who said that originally but it sure has proven to be true in my life. It’s almost comical. I make plans and then watch in frustration as life takes over.

Today began like most Sundays. Up early for breakfast and time with God before heading off to early church and Sunday school. My Mother hasn’t been doing well and she and my father stayed home.

I had planned to prepare lunch for them, clean up the kitchen, and then kick back in my recliner to read and relax and do nothing. Totally. Okay. Maybe get caught up with this daily devotional that seems to have lagged since Mother got sick. But nothing else.

What I did was come home, help Mother into the car and head toward the emergency room in a nearby town. And there we stayed for about six hours. The doctors and nurses and other folks were wonderful but the ER was packed with wreck victims, stomach virus ills and strep throat. I tried to be patient and kind, all while I repeatedly lathered my hands with sanitizer.

The good news is that maybe, just maybe, we finally know what’s going on and causing her pain. I’ve asked God for that diagnosis. The down side is that we’ve got other hurdles, such as referrals to a specialist with a long waiting list. But it’s a start and I am grateful.

My Father is a nervous wreck. At 82, he’s ready for a quiet, simple life. He’s got a wife who can’t lift herself from a chair and stand without help. She moans in pain and he can’t fix it. He goes between tears and nervous edginess.

I am in the middle of the two, trying to manage doctors and treatments while caring for him as well. And, did I mention, earning a living in the midst of it all?

I’m not complaining, though it might sound that way. My parents are blessed to have wonderful medical benefits that allow them to get the best of care. I am blessed to have a flexible schedule that allows me to care for them. Those are the blessings.

The downside is the constant stress and mental strain of being a caregiver for people who resent needing one. Few people understand the frustrations and the desperate need for even a few hours free from endless responsibility.

God understands. He is with me. He listens to my complaints and understands. He hears my frustrations and understands. He sees my tears and understands. How grateful and blessed I am to have God, the Creator of the universe, who cares for me during

Sunday, January 22, 2012

God Carries Us Through

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. -- Psalm 62:8

One of the most difficult things anyone can ever do is watch someone they love die a slow, painful death. It just seems so unfair and so unnecessary. Yet it happens every single day to someone.

A devastating diagnosis comes with tears, anger, and hope. We know that God can heal anyone from anything. We know that doctors and hospitals do wondrous things. Miracles happen. And they can happen to someone we love.

It’s a roller coaster ride that never seems to end. One day a test result offers good news and you’re soaring. Life is good and everything will be okay. A short time later the reverse happens and you can barely make it through the day. Your heart is broken -- again.

Funny thing about that ride you never wanted to take. The longer you stay on it, the more you find yourself depending on God. He’s the only thing that is steady and true during this nightmare journey. No matter how many ups and downs you endure, He’s right there where He always said He’d be. A rock to depend on when nothing else seems to work.

As the journey winds down, there is peace in knowing that our loved one will pass into the arms of their Savior. There is comfort that the good-bye is only temporary. There is gratitude in knowing that the pain will be gone forever. Somehow it makes the sadness a little easier to bear.

Sometimes we Christians think that we shouldn’t have to suffer the pains of life. Illness and heartbreak shouldn’t touch us. It does. Of course, it does. God never promised us an easy life. He promised to stay with us throughout the journey, to care for us and strengthen us. And He does.

As I read the Bible I marvel at those who suffered so much. Jesus chose 12 disciples. Judas, the betrayer, hung himself. Of the 11 remaining, only John lived to be an old man. They died because of their belief in Jesus.

Paul persecuted them before He met Jesus on that road. Yet he, too, suffered. He was beaten and jailed. He endured great hardship. And he had a thorn never really explained to us. God refused to remove it so Paul, His servant, lived with it.

Just as we live with our own pain and suffering. And, unfortunately, the pain and suffering of those we love. It isn’t an easy journey. It’s hard and, frankly, it hurts. But we are not alone. On those dark nights when strength alludes us, God reaches down to lift us up and carry us through the storm.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Take Refuge In God

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish.

-- Psalm 25:16-17

I give up. I've thrown in the towel. I am determined not to care anymore. It's God's problem now. He'll deal with it however He chooses. I can't control the outcome of foolish choices made by selfish people. I'm done.

I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe that somehow I could help. I could be of service. I could actually be necessary and needed. Well, that didn't work out so well. As is often the case with people who mean well, their efforts are rejected with a great deal of attitude and bitterness.

It's my own fault for actually trying to forgive and get on with things. Some lessons must be learned again and again. Once again I am alone in the darkness, feeling the sting of rejection that was bound to come. Indeed, it has always been there. How many times must another person kick us down before we finally say, "No more."

It is scary, that place in the dark. The night is black and there isn't a glimmer of hope anywhere. It would be easy to lose my way -- again. I don't know which way to turn or where to go. I only know that I am alone in my anguish, my heart shattered again by rejection that goes too deep to ever explain.

I cry out to Jesus. He alone knows the depth of my sorrow. He knows the sting of rejection, of betrayal that comes when those closest to us cast us aside. I beg for a glimmer of light to shine on this dark place that I tried so desperately to call home.

I am waiting.

Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. -- Psalm 25:20

My Savior and Redeemer. My refuge. My fortress in yet another attack. Save me from those who are determined to destroy me. Lead me to the light.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

God Is Our Refuge

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, 'Destroy him!'"

-- Deuteronomy 33:27

I've been thinking alot lately about kids who suffer abuse and neglect at the hands of people who should protect and cherrish them. Where do they turn? Who is there for them? The police? Well, they do what they can. But sometimes they can't do anything until it's too late to spare a child from scars that will never go away.

Where does that child go? Where does the adult that child becomes turn when the memories become too much? God. Only God. There is nowhere else that is safe. Ever.

We don't want to acknowledge that. We want to believe we can create our own safety. If we have enough money, if we have a burglar alarm, if we watch carefully over our children...the list goes on and on. And that security, that safety, can vanish in a second because of a choice. That leads us right back to God. And only God.

The footnotes in my Bible explain that no storm can ever destroy us so long as we take refuge in the arms of our Father. It's where I've always gone. What about you? Some days I believe it is only His strength that is holding me up.

God uses broken people. I think one reason I like listening to Beth Moore as she teaches is because she came from brokenness. Maybe her compassion would be just as deep had she not been molested as a child. Only God knows. But I, and so many others, hear strength in her victory over evil as she teaches about God and His love for all His children.

It makes me want to reach out to all the broken children in this world. I want them to feel God's love. I want them to find strength in Him. I want Him to heal them and give them refuge from the evil they should never have experienced. And, yes, I want and trust Him to deal with the guilty who dared to hurt a child of the King.

God is our refuge. Our only refuge. Our strength. He gathers the abused, the unwanted, the hurting to Him and cares for them. Like He cares for you and me. Kneel down and feel His Presence. He is with you.