The Word for today:
Psalm 136
mark this: Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Are you up against it? Are you fed up with all of it, all the way up to here? I am.
Have you had it? I have.
Sometimes things can seem so daunting. The responsibilities stretch out ahead of me, all the way to the vanishing point. The mind-numbing meetings, the motions I must go through, the show that must go on.
I, like so many others, am given to elation and depression, to flight and crash. I asked Shelley last night what it's like to have to sail with me (as she does) through these crests and troughs that are upon me now. She said she "counts it all joy." It was a brave and bittersweet reference to a Bible verse (1). What an angel. An ex-drunkard's dream if I ever did see one.
I've got no magic way out for you, because I've found no magic way out of this for me. The only thing that seems to lighten a leaden day is something so counter-intuitive that you might not think it makes sense. Here it is:
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
And here's a picture that will remind you to remember:
Be like that squirrel. He doesn't bury nuts in the ground for no reason. He buries them on the day of plenty because he knows the day of need approaches. He marks their places in his memory.
Just so, when you read the Bible, intentionally squirrel away the goodness of God. But don't just keep making deposits and forget to make withdrawals!
When your spirit becomes depleted, withdraw from the banks of memory all the goodness of God. Like Israel does in Psalm 136, review the ways he has saved your life, and saved the day, in your past.
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You just might be a nut job like me. So decide on a good sturdy Bible, and start marking the places you'll need to locate on those days that, we know, are coming.
Then, when whatever-it-is-that-assails-us returns, you'll be able to find God's provision.
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(1) James 1:2
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