The Murky Waters of Life

Last week we talked about change. Doesn't it feel like so often when there's changes in our lives we can't see our hand when it's right in front of our faces?

I remember this missions trip I took with my church when I was a teenager. While we were on the Navajo reservation one of the men took us on a hike to this little canyon that was hidden away in the middle of nowhere. Down in the canyon there was this swimming hole that was completely covered in mud. A hot day in the desert made that mud pool look like paradise. I remember swimming under the water and opening my eyes. I couldn't see a thing! There was so much mud in the water that I quite literally couldn't see my hand in front of my face.

Sometimes when God is taking us through a huge change we feel like we're in that murky water. We can't see what's going to happen in the next week much less in the next year. You know that there's things coming up, you trust that God will provide but you have no idea how, when or where that provision will come from.

One of the Psalms I'm continually drawn to is Psalm 121.

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip-
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you-
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm-
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore."

Where I live I'm surrounded by mountains. When I'm in times of change and I can't see a thing through the murky waters of life this is the verse I have to remember. I lift my eyes to the mountains- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."

This message really came home to me the other day when I was in my car listening to C.S. Lewis' book "The Silver Chair" on C.D. There's this amazing scene where the three heroes are trying to make a difficult decision and one of them says something like, "Aslan didn't tell Jill what would happen- he just told her what to do."

So often God doesn't tell us all the details about what will happen next. How it's going to happen, who will be involved or when these circumstances will occur. He just tells us what to do when the time arrives. That can be scary. We like to see where we're going but more often then not in life we're stuck in that muddy swimming hole, trying to keep our eyes open, arms outstretched before us as we try to find our way and hope there's no scary creature residing in the water about to eat us whole. What we should be doing is lifting our head out of the water, looking to the mountains for the Maker of heaven of earth.

He hasn't forgotten us. He hasn't abandoned us. He's still in control and He will help. Usually not in the ways we expect but always in the way that fits His perfect plan for our lives. Next time your stuck in the murky waters of life remember to lift your eyes to the one who never slumbers or sleeps but always watches over His people, both now and forevermore.