Under Construction

Sometimes, just when life is feeling pretty comfy, BOOM! There’s a painful surprise. It can make it tough to stay positive. Sometimes you may even wonder if God sees your discomfort. Or if He cares. 

For instance, a few weeks ago I killed an orange barrel on I-77. I thought. Only, after hitting it, I glanced in my mirror to see it stand back up again.

It waved at me.

The next ten miles were filled with dread and debate. Honestly, I didn’t even want to see the mess I’d made. Then I stopped and there it was…DISCOURAGEMENT. It may have looked like a two-foot orange stripe stretched from back to front on my white Jeep—I knew better. I’d recognize it anywhere. The sense of dread and disappointment that shows up with the resilience of a construction barrel. Granted, disappointment can really leave its mark, and friends, it doesn’t die without a fight.

Maybe you hear it, feel it, see it, too. The breathless sound in your ear while you spin your wheels on a project. The mood that can settle over the workplace. That joyless space in the MIDDLE of conflict or uncertainty. Or question. But the enemy is never overly imaginative and uses disappointment as a roadblock to make us forget: GOD CARES. 

Not only does God care—He’s there. He’s with us. David prayed,

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:7-10 ESV).

You can’t cover up the enthusiasm here—or the faith to fight difficulty with truth—because it would have been easy for David to fold up his mat and go home, but David knew, where he was, God was.

Also, let’s notice the arrangement in this passage, the extremes. Because maybe you feel like you are in an extreme right now. Extremely tired, extremely overwhelmed, or extremely discouraged. But hell to heaven there is no place or thing or circumstance that over extends or out reaches God’s hand.

The thing is, Jesus showed us how to battle discouragement here on earth: He prayed, He sought, He submitted to God’s right hand of authority. He surrendered to joy and the white space of comfort. And maybe you’ve never thought of fighting this way: by not fighting. Maybe, instead, you battle hard and sleep restless. You kick the tire. Discouragement happens most when we try to handle life’s disappointments our way and give-up rather than settle-in.

Remember Psalm 77:10-12:

Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work.

Need encouragement? You will run into it when you take time to think of all the work God’s doing. Right now. Or when you finally hit the place where you’ve decided to hand discouragement over to the right hand of the Most High. Because even this place in the middle of heavy construction is His great work in progress. Our Spirits? They're always under construction. So, let’s struggle less and submit more, because Lord, your right hand shall hold me.

You are with me.
You see.
You hear.
You care.

Father, thank You that You care deeply about every stress, difficulty or disappointment. In every situation, You never leave me. Not for one second. Help me surrender to Your all-seeing authority and ever-present construction as I bow in Your presence. And may I trust You for more strength to battle less. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Adapted from the 90 Day Fix Her Upper Devotional, © 2019 Bold Vision Publishing. Used with permission.