It's no secret that I love David and I love the Psalms. One of the "best" things I learned from the Psalms was that it's okay to tell God anything, everything! David didn't hold back. He talked about being angry with God, upset with his circumstances, and many other heart-wrenching emotions. Whatever David was working through at the time was what reached God's ears.
God never told David, "You shouldn't say things like that." He did reprimand David for being honest about his feelings and emotions.
This morning, I found an instance in 1 Chronicles 13 and 14 that describes one of these instances. In chapter 13, David is doing what he thought was an honorable thing and bringing the Ark of God back to where it belonged. What David failed to do was make sure that the Ark was transported according to how God had told them to do it long ago. It was NEVER supposed to be pulled by oxen - only carried by Levites.
The oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out to stead the Ark so it wouldn't fall. That was another "honorable" thing. But it cost Uzzah his life and that made David angry. They basically set the Ark down and walked away.
But then in chapter 14, the Philistines are attacking and David goes right back to prayer. He asks God if he should go fight or not. God answered and told David to go - he was being given the victory. Two things stood out to me in this story. First, David was quick to run right back to God, even though he had just been mad at Him. Second, God didn't say anything snarky. He didn't say, "Oh, now you wanna talk to me?" Lol. God just answered.
As caregivers, our emotions can be all over the place. We can be working through living grief and loss one second and rejoicing in the smallest victory the next. Our emotions are certainly fickle! But God gets that. He won't prevent us from coming to prayer to Him this morning just because of what we said last night. Whew! That's a good thing because I can get a little cray-cray sometimes!! I love that God gets us and still keeps the door to His heart wide open for us to enter any time.
Today, I'll remind myself of some of those times I was angry with God - or my circumstances. I'll also remind myself how God has never left me standing outside alone. He always welcomes, nourishes, and cares for my soul - even when I've acted a mess. I'll be thankful that He chooses to walk with me on this journey even when I get upset and act up. He never abandons. He's not afraid of my emotions. He just welcomes me every time I decide to come to Him. He continues to carry this messy soul of mine - so I think I can trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?
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Book of the Week!
21 Days
· Are you a new Christian and you’re not sure how to build the habit of Bible reading?
· Have you been looking for some encouragement to read your Bible?
· What if it was actually very easy to read 5 minutes a day?
· Do you need some practical and applicable ideas for developing Bible reading habits?
Do you want to encourage a new believer in their Christian walk?
Grab a copy of 21 Days! I initially wrote it for the youth group I was pastoring to encourage them to develop the habit of reading their Bible every day. A scripture is provided for each day, along with a thought or two about it. Then, there are more scriptures to read if there is time. The whole point is to make it easy to incorporate Bible reading into your daily schedule. It can be done in 5 minutes, or you can take up to 30 if you have the time. The point is just READ!
In the back of the book is a helpful list of actions you can take to help you incorporate Bible reading into your daily schedule. Use it over and over again, or gift it to someone who wants to learn how easy and rewarding it is to read the Bible every day.
Kindle or Print: Amazon Bookshelf
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