Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. ~ Psalm 54:4
It was a tough year for our family. We had to give up our sizable business of nineteen years that my husband, father-in-law and I had created from scratch. It would be difficult to describe to you the emotions I suffered as a result of the loss. Untold prayers offered in complete faith that God could rescue us rained back on my head unanswered, unheeded, seemingly ignored. All I received was directionless, infuriating…
Silence.
And the faith I thought was mine, seemed to crumble as the questions screamed into the silence God left. Out of that came a distinct rumble of anger when I thought my Father left me to navigate without telling me where to go. What happened to the voice behind me telling me, this is the way; walk in it? (Isaiah 30:21) Why the silent treatment now when I so desperately needed to hear – when I had witnessed God do miraculous things before?
Now my prayers were weak, lifeless, barely audible breaths uttered through exhaustion and emotions to a God I couldn’t control, and out of the bewilderment of wondering if my Daddy had abandoned me. What good would more words do now anyway?
But this verse says, “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.”
I needed a wake-up call.
I needed to stop being angry at God and realize that He is the one who sustains me, not our business, not our ingeniousness, or anything else that might bring a measure of comfort and security. I needed to accept that there are times God allows me to walk through the fire even though I prayed I would never have to set foot inside the furnace (see Daniel 3). I needed to stop mourning what I had lost, and be thankful for what I had. Once I figured that out, I wrote a lengthy thank you note.
I suppose we could all use a reminder about who our provider is from time to time. Sometimes we forget that it is the Lord alone who best meets our physical, emotional and spiritual needs. He doesn’t promise to take all discomfort away, but instead promises to help and sustain us through it. He alone provides and often does so in the most beautiful and surprising ways, even if it isn’t how we imagined it would be.
When your plans are upturned, your way fully blocked, your paycheck cut in half, your friends hard to reach, or your health less than optimal, remember God is your help and the one who sustains you.
May you be blessed to see “God is your refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)
Melanie Stevenson 