Scripture is powerful—DUH! It’s literally the word of God. Today, my anthem is 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, which reads, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” I feel all those things: crushed, in despair, abandoned, and destroyed, but God says no, you are not! These may be the things I feel, but they are NOT my reality! My reality is that I am a child of God who sometimes struggles. But God meets us in our struggles. Let these verses be a reminder that we are not the worst things we think or feel about ourselves.
Being children of God allows us to access His beauty and allows us to have it right here with us in life—a little bit of heaven on earth. God bears characteristics that are perfect in every way, and we CAN have access to that. Wanting to dive deeper into that, my friend and I went through Psalm 145. We highlighted and discussed God’s goodness through His characteristics, gifts, and actions. God has “greatness no one can fathom,” He is “gracious and compassionate,” His kingdom is of “glorious splendor,” He is “trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does… He opens His hands and satisfies… He is righteous and faithful in all He does… The Lord is near… He fulfills desires… He watches over all who love Him.” So, if we feel crushed, we can change our perspective because we are reminded that God opens His hands and satisfies. If we feel despair, we can remind ourselves that instead, like the scripture says, we are just perplexed, for God is trustworthy in all He promises. If we feel abandoned, we can trust that the Lord is near. If we feel destroyed, let us remember that God watches over all who love Him. God is king over heaven and earth and can be king of our minds if we let Him. His hand is reaching out to us. Are we going to join Him in battle or do it on our own? Spoiler: Battles are only won with Him, and the struggles that we face are no surprise to Him.
Jesus experienced the worst of all struggles on earth, so of course He gets it and can empathize with us. Yes, He is Holy, perfect, and never falls short, and while our fleshly bodies will never mount up to that, Jesus’s heart STILL breaks when ours does. He literally experienced all the heartbreak we can think of. Because of this, He is able to meet us where we are and experience it with us. He hurts with us, but more than that, He also comforts us. Psalm 139:7-12 says that He is with us always: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from you presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” Thank God for His light. It outshines any darkness and glows through the cracks of brokenness.
Brokenness.. man we are so broken. To add to that, I feel like I am constantly at war in my mind. I am always needing God to remind me of His goodness and for Him to hold me through the night. Sometimes my reality is that I am falling apart, feeling too broken, but God has the power to piece me back together. God meets us in the mess… in those very moments when we feel shattered beyond repairable. He glows through those cracks! When I feel overwhelmed by my thoughts and disappointed in myself, a sweet, wise friend of mine always reminds me, “Mallory, it’s ok! This is your reality at the moment.” Jesus is not scared of our broken realities. He is ALREADY aware of our brokenness. We have a big God who is not stunned or scared of anything; instead, He wants us to invite Him into the “ big mess” we think we have, and He wants to fight our battles for us. When you need some empathy, simply call out to Jesus. Tell Him what’s bothering you. No matter the situation, He’s experienced it while on earth and can guide you as you listen to His kind words. Practically, what does that look like? You may have never talked to God in your life. Still, go to Him. You may think you do not know how to pray, still go to Him. You may even be someone who has bashed Him, still go to Him—He still loves you. Yes, you. And He’s there to hear it all. He wants your heart. Just have a simple conversation with God. It can be vocal or journaled out. Open up your Bible and see what it has to say. Meditate on His word. Sit still and listen to all He has to say. Just from reading and dissecting one single chapter (psalm 145), we can conclude that God is everything we need + more! What about the other 1,188 chapters? Let’s keep reading and let God reveal Himself to us in those other chapters as well.
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