Life has a funny way of throwing things at you. You look around and wonder at times what you are doing, how you got there and what is really happening. I have found myself in a situation where I feel completely over my head. This isn’t my normal cup of tea you might say! Somehow, though, I am in the middle of it all, the stakes are high and people are depending on me. I am definitely overwhelmed! So, I do the only logical thing to do: bury myself in the work. I then got frustrated and wondered “why me”. Seriously, I don’t make enough to put up with all of this. Really!
Then, I began to put things into perspective. There is hunger in the world; I have food on my table. There is hurt in families; I have a wonderful husband and three beautiful children. How did I make this one issue such a big deal in my life? Why did I blow it out of proportion so much? True, it made a huge dent in my everyday schedule, but was it really life altering like I was acting? No. Perspective changes a lot of things. I just take a long time to get there.
I think my favorite chapter in the Bible at this time in my life is Psalm 37. Verse 3 says, “Trust in the Lord (Yahweh) and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness” (NASB). It’s not good enough for me to do good only. I have to trust in Yahweh. I have to know that even if I do good and the situation doesn’t turn out like I had planned, God is still good. His ways are good. I must dwell in the land (the job, my situation, my circumstance, my health) and cultivate faithfulness. This means to trust God, to be loyal to Him no matter what is going on in my life. Cancer, heartache, jobs, irritations…. dwell in it and cultivate faithfulness.
So, during my present work, this is how I choose to rewrite Psalm 37:3 today for me: Commit to Yahweh and do what is right in His sight; Stay where God has placed me, absorb my present situation and dig in the depths of my soul to plant loyalty to my God.
© 2012 Susan M. Sims
Image courtesy of Carlos Porto at freedigitalphotos.net
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