Lots of "Blah"

There has been a lot of "blah" lately. Lots of things going wrong. Lots of disappointments. Lots of discouragement. I feel as though the blues are on the rise.

And its true—everywhere you look, things are not exactly perfect. The world. . .disaster in Haiti, natural and man-made devastation, on-going corruption and war, poor economics—you name it. There are groups to join, petitions to sign and letters to write to the leaders of our country and cities in defense of the injustices we see all around us. Not spared from the "blahs" are our personal lives and the lives of those we care about. You don't have to look very far to see injustice and things that can weigh one down with discouragement. There are the sicknesses, illnesses, and diseases that are plaguing loved ones. There are the budgets and bills that come up again and again. There are the strained family circumstances, the unanswered prayers for relatives, the dashed dreams. There are the daily chores, daily struggles, daily fights, daily routines, daily days.

A friend of mine even summed up her day as being "craptacular."

It is in those blah times that we sometimes ask ourselves where God is. Why isn't he acting right here and right now? Why isn't he fixing this or preventing it?

I am reminded of the psalmist during these times. David was God's friend. He was a man after God's own heart. He and God were tight. But he still felt the same blahs we feel. Psalm 27 and 28 show David pleading with God to be merciful (27:7 & 28:3-6). Psalm 18:4-6 show a man in distress calling out to a God of power and might. The psalmist of Psalm 88 tells how he cries out to the Lord both "day and night."

Seeing hardships, experiencing disappointments and feeling discouragement is not new. It happened when the world was young and it continues as the world ages. But as time goes on, one more thing remains the same. We have a God who hears us, who listens to us, and who loves us.

In each of the psalms listed above, we not only hear the writer laying his burdens before the Lord, but we also hear the proclamation of the loving, saving and faithful attributes of God.

"O Lord, the God who saves me. . ." (88:1)

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. . .in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." (18:1-3)

""The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?" (27:1)

"Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. . .The Lord is the strength of his people. . ." (28: 6 &8).

A quote we have all heard:

"God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way."

Quote taken from: http://thinkexist.com/quotation/god_didn-t_promise_days_without_pain-laughter/328078.html

An old poem for the journey:

Footsteps In The Sand

One night a man had a dream.
He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand:
one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him
he looked back, at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life
there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:
"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you,
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Author unknown

Taken from: http://www.judyn.trest.com/footsteps.html