“The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it.”
Psalm 145:14-15 NLT
Have you ever tried lifting someone who doesn’t have control over their body? I have. Because they could not cooperate with my attempts to lift them, I was lifting a ‘dead weight’. It was an impossible task. As I reflect upon the words of the psalmist, I am reminded of the fact that I have to agree with God and cooperate, rather than thinking that God will deliver me from discomforting situations.
We are in a real relationship with God, and while there are rare circumstances where I am incapable of cooperating with God, in the majority of situations it’s a case of finding the determination and resilience to press through. Having walked with God for more than 40 years, I have only recently begun to practise the art of resisting my own inner angst determining my reaction, mood and spiritual condition. Choosing faith offers no obvious road out of my challenge, yet it directs my gaze back towards God, my rescuer.
I take comfort from my experience ‘in the squeeze’, where my fears rise and I struggle to maintain a positive outlook; here the keenest spiritual growth takes place. I have had to learn to live within the substance of God’s promise, for here alone is the source of that promise, God, to be found; the word embedded within the word. It’s one reason why reading scripture is so essential, for it is the only food that nourishes faith and carries us into intimate friendship with God. We discover how to live where others fear to tread.
QUESTION
What gives you the spiritual nourishment you need?
PRAYER
Lord God, thank you for your mercy in lifting me, your kindness in sustaining me, your presence which gives me hope.
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