(This post first appeared on the Wholly Loved website.)
I’m pretty sure you haven’t missed it. The outside world is a pretty intense place right now. War, division, pandemic… Honestly, if I start listing everything, we’ll all just get depressed.
For the past few years, it seems I have lived my life by some verses in Psalms:
“My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:15-16 NIV)
There’s an immense comfort in knowing God knew everything that was coming before you were even born. When I look back on my life, particularly the times that have taxed me and brought me to the end of myself, I don’t often see the hardship first. What stands out most clearly is God’s presence and how He made a way. It’s not just that God knows what’s coming; it’s that He has already prepared a path through that place. Even my hard places. Even through a pandemic. Even through the threat of war.
Even in the midst of whatever you are personally going through.God knows what’s coming. He has already prepared a path through…CLICK TO TWEET
Awhile back, while I was praying some things for my daughter, I went back to Psalm 139 and started looking at it again. This is where I find my comfort. I started wondering: what else does Psalm 139 have for us in these anxious times? It’s a Psalm about God being in charge, so it seems like a good thing to realize right now, in the middle of uncertainty, anxiety and just plain weirdness.
There is so much to see in this chapter. Beautiful promises like, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7-10 NIV)
It doesn’t matter where we are. At home, away from home, with our family or alone: God is there. In the midst of sin, God is there, waiting for us to turn to Him. In the midst of fear, God is there, waiting for us to turn to Him. In the midst of a complete loss of control, God is there, waiting for us to turn to Him. If He feels far away, please know that’s a lie straight from the enemy. Right here in Psalm 139 is the promise that God is right here. Right there. Right where you are.
Even better? Darkness isn’t a thing to God. “Even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.” (Psalm 139:12 NIV)
When it all seems bleak and we can’t see what’s coming, God can and does. Nothing surprises Him. Nothing startles Him. He’s not wringing His hands in heaven, wondering what to do next. He already knows what’s coming, and He’s already at work in the “what next.”When it all seems bleak and we can’t see what’s coming, God can and does. Nothing surprises Him. (CLICK TO TWEET
Know what that means? We don’t need to know everything. One of my precious former students texted me last night and said, “I have never wanted so badly to be able to see the future.” My initial response was, “Me, too.” But then God dropped Psalm 139 on me yet again. He already knows the future. It’s already taken care of. We don’t need to know, because our loving Father does.
He’s already made a way in the darkness. A stream in the desert. If we stop and take some time to look and listen, I know we will see places where He is working. Sometimes it’s in the greater world. Sometimes it’s in our living room. And sometimes it’s right inside of us. But never doubt: He is working all over the place, in every inch of this, even when it seems like the darkness is winning.But never doubt: He is working, in every inch of this, even when it seems like the darkness is winning. (CLICK TO TWEET)
Know what? I’m praying for you. Praying that if it feels like you’re in the dark, if you’re scared or anxious or
wondering what comes next, God will show you that He is right beside you, no matter where you are.
There is no darkness to God. Only glorious light.
Take a look around, even at the hard places. God is there. Where do you see Him at work today?
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