Sometimes this world overwhelms.
To hear of that young woman who aborted her twins at 20 weeks, gut-wrenching. To see marriage after Christian marriage completely crumble, devastating. To read of young girls and boys and women kidnapped and then sold to gratify insatiable lust and consuming greed, unbelievable in the truest sense of the word. Hi, welcome to today’s word of hope.
Then there’s the daily pull of what-needs-to-be-done. Emails holler from the inbox, “Answer me!” Social media never sleeps. Groceries and homework and finding shoes that fit and being everywhere on time. It’s just too much. No wonder we as humans turn to anything and everything to numb the pain. No wonder I sometimes go outside and do this, except without a smile…
Click here if you are having trouble viewing.
(I’m not exactly sure what possessed me to actually let you see that.)
Looking around down here for too long makes me freak out a little — obviously. That’s why I’m so thankful there’s another option — the one that typically comes after my brief freak out. It’s the one where He takes my chin and turns my heart and mind and soul back onto Him.
Even with all the trauma and drama that lives on this planet, turning back to Him makes that Isaiah passage tangible.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:30-31
Those who wait on the Lord. Wait. That doesn’t mean I sit around and eat Bonbons (do they even make those anymore?). It doesn’t mean I nervously bite my nails desperately hoping that God shows up. To wait means I “bind” to Him (see Strong’s concordance). I strain my mind towards Him and His promises, expecting Him to be faithful.
I have to do that daily…minutely. I have to bind to Him when this world overwhelms. I have to grab onto His neck and cling to my Father for dear life. And you know what He promises? Renewed strength. He’s not talking about our old feeble, fleshly strength. He gives new strength — His strength.
His strength enables us to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint. And those aren’t just words on a page to make us feel good. Those are words that mean something. Those are promises I’ve intimately experienced.
This world will continue to overwhelm. People will still sin and betray and do evil, horrid things. But as Jesus-followers, this world is not our ultimate home. We’re sojourning through.
As we bind to Him, He will renew us. He will strengthen us so that we can enter back into the world’s conversation. He will empower us to shine as lights in our homes and at our jobs and across the globe, even in the midst of overwhelming.
Fill me, Lord…
How do you “bind to Him” when this world overwhelms?
