Now Is Not The Time

Have you ever considered the times you are living in?

Again, it’s not the total picture of the entire world, but those individual weights of your private world dragging you down. Weariness has settled in, and your immune system becomes overworked. Before long you become weakened. Even confused. Which way to go? How long till I know which step to take next?

Your immune system is compromised. You start allowing junk to crowd in and before long it takes up residence in your space. Crowded. Weighted. Before you know it you are defeated. All feels lost. There is no way to escape and come back up to the light of day. The ground feels like syrup and your feet drag all day long. Moody, even if you put on a good front so no one will know. You act like you know what you’re doing, but in reality you are lost like so many others.

Over the years I’ve watched people become so stressed that they look instantly ready to flee, or flop. Repeatedly they have dug themselves out of their condition, only to relapse back to what they no longer want to be.

• Fleeing seems to be the best option. Camouflage themselves into a new life and cast their history away. But without fixing their problems, they soon get caught up with the same issues all over again.
• The other option is to flop. Emotions, Depression. Doctors. Lawyers. Divorce. Ruined career. Name your poison because addiction seems to be the next step.

I was thinking of Joseph. You know. The Coat of Many Colors. Favored by his father and dissed by his siblings. Sold into slavery. Prison. Accused. Forgotten. And then finally remembered when the King is disturbed by dreams. Finally, brought out of the dark caves of the lost and dying and placed into a senior position second to the King. All goes according to his interpretation of the dream.

Then his brothers show up.

So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. (Genesis 42:8 NKJV)

If there was ever someone who could be overwhelmed by his recent past it could have been Joseph! He had every right to be discombobulated by his experiences, and he could have harbored a grudge against those brothers and reveled in revenge.

But think about it, how you respond to your situation tells a lot about the character of your composition. That core of identity and inner strength shows how you stand up to challenges even when the weight of the world drags you down. What’s your intestinal fortitude? Where does your strength come from?

“For You are my lamp, O LORD; The LORD shall enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. “For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? God is my strength and power, And He makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarged my path under me; So my feet did not slip. (2 Samuel 22:29-37 NKJV)

Here’s the key. When you are overwhelmed by life, you need to remember that God has the ability to strengthen you and equip you to stand up to your situation.  He is your rock. Shield. The descriptors are simply too numerous to paint the adequate picture with my language.

But, when you need him the most, he knows exactly what to do to get your through your trouble. Just like that valley of the shadow of death, there is always an exit on the other side of your situation. And God is God. He changes not! (Malachai 3:6)