Recently I wrote a glowing tribute to thanksgiving, rating the activity as something admirable and worth enjoying.
In the interests of fairness, and because as timing has it, after I was so happy, I was sent to a significant low, it’s worth sharing how I celebrate God in bad times.
Sometimes events appear to conspire against me. If you’re a person of routine and rhythm when it comes to work, you’re aware that anything that disrupts that rhythm or routine can put you off for the entire day. When that starts from the beginning of the day, then you can imagine how frustrating that can be for all the plans you had.
When you then go onto witness some unpleasant human interactions culminating in a charge of being intimidated, bullied and threatened, then that can exacerbate what has already been a disjointed day.
After enduring all of that to then consider some other pressing responsibilities that appear to overwhelm, that can seriously do damage to your mental wellbeing. Your whole psyche can be on a downer as you consider the old saying there are not enough hours in the day.
From here the descent into dulled brains and headaches seems inevitable. This is aided by sitting through what appears to be a never-changing and never-ending ‘excited conversation’ between a couple of men over an issue on which they actually don’t disagree, but give a good impression they do. Such fruitless chatter after such a challenging day has all the ingredients to be one that I instantly want to forget.
Why I remember it is the reminder of how I learn to celebrate God in it. Keeping my mind on God really is about remembering His key qualities – not just His faithfulness in the past, but His truth and care for the present. He is not obliged to give me carefree days, I am invited to enter His peace when anxieties rise. He is not at my beck and call to make all my miseries disappear, I am given the chance to apply His wisdom to negotiate these issues maintaining a character right for the setting never being given to extremes.
Some find comparing their plight to others of use, resorting to the ‘it could be worse’ and there are people who are in worse situations.
Why that doesn’t work for me is that mentioning people in a worse position than me, doesn’t actually resolve my situation, any more than anyone who is in a better situation necessarily affects me. That si to say it doesn’t really matter about them – it still comes back to me.
So celebrating the God who is in the here and now, and walks with me and talks with me, is the only way I can get a healthy bearing on the situation. His ability to give me a righteous perspective on things can stop me slumping into depression or a pity party.
I have been through worse, who is to say things might get worse for me in time to come. I have now, I have the present, and even in the here and now, God is far greater than my issues. His love is far deeper. His grace is far greater. Were He to exercise His power it could be done and dusted in a flash. That He allows it, shows that His presence with me and His Spirit in me is sufficient for me.
Does it make things better? Nope. Does it make me feel better? Well there’s nothing better on offer, and it is good news. I have been known to bring out a smirk, and the occasional song of praise in response. Can’t be that bad, eh?
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 