January
can be tough. It is cold
and dark. Christmas is
over and, for some, the credit
card bills are arriving. We
stay home
more and socialize less. It
is easy to
think, “I need a break!”
In
addition to that, regardless of the time of year, some people are
just
overloaded. Unable or
unwilling to say
“no”, they end up taking on too many responsibilities and do not
have enough
time to themselves. On the
other hand, some
are bored to death! There
is so little
going on in their lives that they become detached and depressed. Most of us find ourselves
somewhere between
those two extremes.
All
of
this leaves us chasing after answers which we hope will make our
lives better
and happier. That is good! I
am all for
evaluating and making necessary changes.
However,
before all of that, consider a truth that David understood. His answer does not preclude
making other
changes, but it does come before all the rest of them. This is not a theoretical
idea. Rather, it is born
from David’s own, very
real, experience with stress and trouble.
His answer is found in Psalm 62.
“My
soul finds rest in God alone” (verse 1a). Note the word “alone”. Temporary relief can be found
in many places,
but true peace is found only in God.
“My
salvation comes from him. Truly
he is my
rock and my salvation; he is my fortress; I will never be shaken”
(verses
1b-2). A fortress is only
necessary if
you are under attack. David
was and he
outlines what that looks and feels like in the next few verses
(3-4).
Then
he
reminds himself, “My soul finds rest in God alone!” (Verse 5). His enemies are real and
discouraging (verses
9-10), but he also realizes that they are “but a breath”. Our troubles can look big,
but in the long run,
they do not last.
He
ends
by stating two things that he knows for sure: (a) God is strong
and (b) God is
loving (verses 11-12). Those
two facts
change everything.
Struggles
come, but, when we have the proper base, they do not have to
defeat us.
“He
who
is in you is greater than he who is in the world!” (1 John 4:4)
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