One Of Those Times

“Hope awaits you. Not just when it’s over and not just when everything it going well. But, even now, in the middle of it is one of those times to hope still.”
Loren Thornburg

We have all had one of those times. Where things just don’t seem to be going as we thought that they would or should; when things are just coming at us at rates we can’t seem to control or combat; where life just seems too hard and we can barely see the light at the end of the tunnel or the reason to keep hoping. And so we don’t. We stay in that place of despair because it seems our only option. Yet, so often we are too busy being mad at life to see the hope in front of us. I am pretty good at it too. Sometimes I don’t even want to see the hope because I just want to be mad. The problem with that is that it is never enough. At no point in that do I find contentment or joy. It only leads to more. And the truth is that there is hope. There is always hope. In fact it is waiting for you in this very moment, in the middle of your despair, if you will only choose to look up and see.

“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumberable! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!”
Psalm 139:18 NLT

He is with You!! It seems easy to think about Him being there when things are going well and to praise Him. But, He is with you even in the middle of it! So often we are so focused on the situation that we miss Him there with us and thus miss the hope that awaits us. I love the song Surprised by Ten Shekel Shirt that speaks of this very Presence. From the voice of God it says, “I walk along the road of your despair you’ll be confused till you see me there.” The problem is that we don’t look for Him. He is there if we will only see. Hope awaits us if we will only look up from our problem long enough to see that Jesus awaits us and holds all hope and peace in His hands. Whether we see Him or not the truth remains that He is with us, in the middle of it. As long as this truth remains may we walk in the hope of this truth. Think about how amazing that truth is! That the God of the universe is thinking about you, He is with you when you sleep, rise and all the in-betweens, and that He is with us in the middle of it.

Surprised
Ten Shekel Shirt
I’m walking up to your tomb to call your name To give you a new start, remove your shame
It’s time to be surprised
I walk upon the seas of your grief The waves of this world are no match for my peace
It’s time to be Surprised So lift your eyes
I’m with you, With you in the middle of it With you, with you through this time
I’m walking through the walls of your hiding space To remove your fear and put courage in it’s place
It’s time to be surprised
I walk along the road of your despair You’ll be confused till you see me there
It’s time to be Surprised So lift your eyes
Ever present help in time of need This is one of those times
Unclench your fists, unfold your arms And with your heart, with your heart hear me