I was losing the tug-of-war game big time–to a puppy…Stretched to the max, he yanked at my sweater until I wrestled the fabric from his grip. Once a beloved work sweater, when it became a favorite moth snack food it was relegated to a comfort-only drawer with those not-so-attractive sweats we all have. So what if puppy teeth added a few more holes to the existing ones.
Though his razor-sharp teeth nip, bite and chew, no harm is intended. It’s a puppy’s way of exploring the world. I so wanted to cuddle one, but they were not having it. Wiggly balls of movement– the only time their perpetual motion ceased was when snoozing or eating. So forget the snuggles.
When life nips and bites and chews you up, what’s your response? Most times life is just the life God promised—sharp and full of nips. But in uncertain times like these, the nip can feel more like a bite. Or a razor cut deep into our souls.
And our belief systems strain under these trials. We who grew up “in church” were taught how to live our lives “correctly.” Maybe the teachers didn’t intend the interpretation I swallowed. But I held close to my heart this confidence— if I was good enough, God would be pleased with me and protect me from all harm. I would live a charmed life and everything would be roses.
I felt like I had true-life examples to shore up my theory. My godly grandparents lived prosperous smooth lives. They lived in harmony together and died six months apart. My grandmother went first, and my grandfather followed soon after—literally of a broken heart.
My parents live comfortable godly lives. They work hard for their local church, serving, and mentoring. Their lives though sprinkled with a few nips have been protected from devastating life events.
Then I slowly remember—they did have pain, most of which I was sheltered from but surmised by the whispered words and subtle glances. Of loss of a livelihood, and the death of loved ones, estrangement, and even the specter of suicide.
I realized later—their lives looked seamless to me because of the way they walked through life with grace and faith. I never saw them “fall apart” or give up in despair. I never heard the words, “I can’t do this Lord.” They just soldiered on. One foot in front of the other. Day by day.
The one consistent thread stitched through these lives was the worn bible sitting next to a comfortable chair. I remember thinking, “Why do they not get a new bible and ditch that ratty old one?” As a young woman, I even went as far as buying my father a new bible and saw it proudly displayed, but found him still using the old one.
In my ignorance, I failed to realize the state of the Bible reflected the state of their hearts. Worn and tattered but full of truth and grace and love. Charles Spurgeon summed it up perfectly:
“A bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”
I only saw peaceful heads bowed in prayer, bibles worn and pages torn. Poured out lives of faith, shored up by God’s word. Which made me think falsely—their lives were always easy.
As life chews us up, we all cope in different ways, some healthy and some not so much…Anyone raiding the snack shelf too frequently like me?? Never before have we been faced with such global uncertainty. Never before have we experienced illness and death in such rapid and devastating numbers.
Here’s the bottom line—The war that wreaks the most devastation is not the physical one around us—but the spiritual one inside us. So we must answer the most important question of all—
Fear or faith?
We have a lot to be scared of. But we have a God who steadies us and puts our feet on solid ground. And we must remember:
He adores us.
He is greater than our loneliness.
He wants us to trust him with our “whys.”
Our God will always be greater than our fear.
I am weak but he is strong and that’s ok with Him.
Are you surviving? What has helped you?
I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the LORD.
Psalms 40:1-3