Living and Actively Working

 

Just call me Alexander . . . you know, that guy who had that one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! We’ve all had them; and how we’ve responded sometimes reflects our state of mind before the not-very-fun day began.

I was beginning my seventh day of running a fever and the third morning after sitting up to sleep all night due to breathing issues from pneumonia. I had already had to accept that I would not be leading my new Women’s Bible Study at church that night and someone else would have to cover for me. 

As I opened my medicine cabinet, a decent-sized spider that had taken up residence decided this would be a good time to drop down onto my countertop and try to take over. The spider was wrong . . . I took off my slipper and beat it mercilessly until it was no longer recognizable! 

Next, I went to the kitchen to try and restore some of my electrolytes with a small glass of Gatorade. But it would be a while before my body received any help, as I accidentally hit the glass with my elbow and sent it flying to the throw rug below . . . leaving a pool on the countertop, a pool on the rug, and splattered drink down the front of the dishwasher and across a three-to-four-feet radius on the floor. The words that came out of my mouth probably weren’t the most uplifting I’ve ever uttered! 

Now I was tasked with wiping the countertop and dishwasher, mopping the floor, and eventually washing the rug. I asked God why he thought this was a good idea for me that day when he knew how bad I felt physically. He didn’t answer me audibly; but I knew from a lifetime of walking with him that this probably had something to do with either my growth or his glory. At that moment, I really wasn’t interested in either of those options. 

As I went to get the mop from the wall-mounted mop rack, I was greeted with the fact that the rack was beginning to fall off of the wall. You can imagine how happy I was with that information. All I wanted to do was sit down and rest with some Gatorade. But as I cleaned up the mess, I began to think about some of David’s reactions in the Psalms. 

No part of the Bible is a mistake, but instead is God’s written Word. Even when David or other Psalmists were basically yelling at God and telling him how unhappy they were. Here are a couple of examples: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1); or “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1). 

But here’s the part of the Psalms that I love: these and other passages validate my human feelings, but they don’t stop there. Listen to the words just a few verses after those quoted above: “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” (Psalm 13:5-6); and “But you do see . . . O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear . . . “ (Psalm 10:14 & 17). It seems that God is okay with our questions and our cries, as long as we remember Who he is and what he’s done in the past and choose to be thankful in spite of our less-than-ideal moments or days. 

I can always count on Scripture to center me and bring my thoughts into proper alignment, even on my worst days. That’s the power of God’s living Word. What a gift we have been given!