“Let us not fear the unseen dangers but let us learn to trust the One who Sees.”
I don’t like mosquitoes or most bugs for that matter. It doesn’t seem fair that often you can’t see them and yet they can bite you. That one bite can cause days of discomfort. So much of life’s dangers are unseen. The virus, bacteria, and toxins can all go undetected to the naked eye, yet they can have devastating and even deadly effects. We are at risk of many unseen dangers, not only physically but emotionally as well. You can’t see the toll of grief, fear of the unknown and devastation of unmet longings. Often we can see their effects, but much like the bite we can’t see it happening to us. So then what?! How do we see something that can’t be seen? While there is nothing I can do to guarantee I never get bit again or sad again I can learn how to care for those things well both before and after. I can use bug spray when I go in bug infested areas or make sure I’m getting rest and my life has margin so when other turmoil comes I have space to care for it. I can learn not to see it as a failure on my part but as a part of the journey of life. So while I can’t ever expect to avoid all dangers I can learn to expect that they will come and when they do I can know how to care for those places.
“But I call to God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.”
Psalm 55:16-18 ESV
God never promised that battles wouldn’t wage against us. It is very clear in scripture that we will face difficulties. Yet what He does promise is that He will be there with us and He will help us through it. The hard part is that sometimes the ways that God saves me is not the way I want to be saved. I want Him to save me by making everything easy and removing the struggle. Instead, He saves us through the struggle, not out of it. He walks with us, guiding us, teaching us, holding us, but not always removing us from it. He knows removing us from it doesn’t help us for the next time we face something. As He walks with me through it I learn to trust Him and I grow the faith I need to walk through it again. Oh I still ask for that removing but the more I see how He is redeeming me through the struggle the more I want to learn to let Him help me in His ways and not my own. He hears, He saves, He redeems. May we trust His ways to see how He will do it. The dangers may feel unseen but God sees us through it all.
