Circumstantial Help

There was just a bit of upheaval here at the church building. 

There was a break-in Thursday about 1am, but nothing was taken. Plenty of shattered glass and a rock on the floor of the youth room, but nothing missing. Our alarm system alerted the Portland Police, but when they arrived and scoured the building whoever it was had already gone — probably startled by the alarm. 

What do we do when someone throws a rock into our day? When something we count on is shattered, like our health, an important relationship, or even just our expectations for the day? Our circumstances threaten to overwhelm us.

Psalm 23 continues:
    I will fear no evil,
        for you are with me; (Psalms 23:4)

What does it mean for us not to fear because God is with us? At least in part it means we reach out to God, and God is there in the midst of it all with us.

When we reach out to God, we are lifting our souls up to be nurtured and healed. A soul centered in God always knows it has a heavenly Father who will hold its pain, its fear, its anxiety. This is spiritual life: to place the soul each moment in the presence and care of God. -- John Ortberg, Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 104). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. 

God’s part is to be there. Our part is to offer our soul — our whole self, nothing held back — to God’s care. 

What circumstances threaten you today? Offer them and you to God. Sometimes his help is just his presence. And that becomes enough.