That's Not What I Needed To Hear...

Have you ever just had a moment...the kind of moment where you freak out for 30 minutes and then it's over. But you feel like you just have to freak out because that's how stressed you are? Believe me, I feel like that all the time.

The other day, I had a slight freak-out session about some debt that I have. It's not even THAT much, but the idea of ever getting it paid off just really seems impossible. So during my freak-out process...I decided to send lots of emails to people asking them for advice and help with stuff like this.

In response, one of my friends I emailed wrote to me and reminded me that God has always provided for me in the past, and I need to remember that God will always provide for me, and that I need to take comfort in that.

Great advice! What a reality check. I really needed that reminder.

But then the next day, that friend and I had an interesting conversation about his response to my frantic email. He said, "I'm sorry about my response. I know sometimes when people freak out like that, the last thing they want to hear is some quick easy answer like that."

I quickly assured him that his response was EXACTLY what I needed to hear and it brought me back to the reality that God IS my provider and my Heavenly Father will always have my best interest at heart.

But what's interesting to me is, how come when we are in a crisis, the last thing we want to hear is a "cliche" reminder of God's word or God's love for us? I mean...shouldn't that be the FIRST thing we want to hear? The love our God has for us is constant, never-failing, never-ending. Shouldn't that be the most comforting thing we could ever hear during any crisis we have?

Psalm 25:5
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 62:5
5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.

Psalm 119:52
52 I remember, LORD, your ancient laws,
and I find comfort in them.

Psalm 119:76
76 May your unfailing love be my comfort,
according to your promise to your servant.

Psalm 119:114
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.

Psalm 147:11
11 the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

And my friend was right! It IS an easy answer! Because it shouldn't be hard for us to remember how much our Father LOVES us and will always take care of us. As followers of Christ, comforting words from the Bible or other encouragement should be the first things out of our mouths when someone else is suffering. So as the suffer-ees...we should take extreme comfort when people send us encouraging words from the scriptures. Because those promises will never change!

Maybe we need to examine the words we truly want to hear when we are dealing with something tough. Maybe we need to desire to hear God's voice in all circumstances, not just when times are good.

Thinking about this the past few days has really been a great reality check for me. I hope for myself and for the rest of you, that anytime we have a crisis or a freak-out...the first thing we'll desire would be to hear God's word and His promises.

Til next time,

ST