Still Belong

 

I'm working my way through Psalms for an upcoming book I'm writing on grief. I love that the psalmists were so expressive of their feelings, and that God let them put them in the Bible. We can easily forget how human our beloved Bible characters were. They felt pain and joy. Many lived stressful lives. The Psalms are one of the most "human" books, I think, because we get to see a piece of how people like Moses, Asaph, the sons of Korah, and, of course, David, really felt.

Psalm 73 was written by Asaph. He is obviously writing during a very troublesome time in his life. It was verses 22-24 that caught my eye. In verse 22, he admits his ignorance and foolishness. In the NLT (1996), verse 22 says, I must have seemed like a senseless animal to You. Boy, I've felt senselss and foolish before God, haven't you?

But the first phrase of verse 23 is what grabbed my attention. Asaph has felt like he lost it before God, then he says, But I still belong to You. Man, I love that. 

We can trust that no matter what happens during our crazy caregiving days, we still belong to God. He won't cancel us just because we missed something or did something wrong, even. We are His!

Asaph goes on to say that God is still holding his hand and that God is guiding him with His counsel. No matter how we feel, or don't feel for that matter, God doesn't stop holding us, leading us, instructing us, or loving us. He doesn't check out when life gets messy. He doesn't walk away when the picture gets ugly. In fact, it is in our perceived ugly parts of life that He can find the most beauty.

His specialty is bringing beauty out of the ashy heaps in our lives. (Isaiah 61:2-3) Part of His healing message is that He comforts those who mourn and that He will give joy where our lives feel like they are full of mourning. Verse three goes on to say that He plants B us. And we become strong and graceful (NLT) for His glory.

I'm so glad that God doesn't have a cancel mindset. He chose redemption, salvation, and righteousness long before He said Let there be light! He already had a plan in place for Adam and Eve's sin before He made them. We can trust that He has already walked through and worked through today for us before we even realize it.

Today, I will remind myself that I am still His. Caregiving can't take that away or force Him to change His mind. And even on those days when we feel like senseless animals (hey, it happens to the best of us! lol), we can rest assured that He is still holding our hands and guiding us along the rugged journey.

I am determined to trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

Today is a good day to peace out! Check out my 31-day devotional on Kindle or in Print!

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