Push Back

A dear sweet friend of mine once went through a dark wilderness.  Very wisely, knowing that she was grappling with something heavier than she could manage, she sought counseling.  She was advised to be pro-active when she felt the darkness closing in.  To keep heart panic from gaining control, she was told, push back against it.

Call someone,  do something kind for someone in need, to turn her eyes away from self, first to God (who should I call, how can I serve, what should I do), and then turn her eyes towards others, equipped to encourage them in word and deed.

Be a blessing to others, and through it, realize God's strength in it.

I have been the recipient of some of those calls --  not for help, but calls to help.  Instead of dwelling on "no one ever calls," ask God, "Who can I encourage today?"

I hope that she realizes how much she has blessed me in those calls, emails, and sometimes short little text messages that break through my own stupor.  They remind me that even in my wilderness I am loved.  "Thinking about you."  "Praying for you."  "Love you friend."  We rise above the clouds and realize God is not limited at all.

And somehow in that breaking through and reaching out, I realize that silence is not a bleak empty void, but a gift.

In my reading this morning, sitting on yet another delayed plane, I read Psalm 136 which responds with a chorus to the huge things in life and His daily provision:  "for His steadfast love endures for ever."  The refrain is repeated 26 times in 26 verses, as if to emphasize: "and don't ever forget it."

Even in this.  Even in that.  His love never fails.

I can endure almost anything knowing that solid truth -- the steadfastness of His love and the reality of His Presence.  I am not in this alone.  I read God's Word this morning like a text message, reminding me and breaking through my cloudy thoughts to grasp His Truth.

As I go through my day -- delays, appointments, and the daily glitches -- the psalmist says "repeat after me:"
   
"His steadfast love endures for ever."

May my life,
    what I say and do today,
share His truth with others:
     "You are loved."