With the bedroom window open to the cool night air, the sound of migrating geese calling overhead reminds me I am not alone, nor am I the only one not sleeping. Some nights can feel years long, and I wonder if the day will ever break. It’s like I’m in knots, tossing and turning over wrinkled and scattered dreams.
I’m jealous of the geese flying forward in a simple V pattern, set out on a path intended for their good, their Creator sending them to places for their rest and welfare. Do they have to weather unexpected storms, too? Or is it just the business of flying and arriving season after season for them?
Their lives seem so simple.
Hearing the geese calling to one another in the dark of night gives assurance that – at least something – in this life is as it should be. Geese are migrating. Maybe that is why my heart is calmed by their sound. They know where they are going.
Are you currently living in a hard time? Do you wonder if life will ever get “better” or easier? How can we move forward when pain is louder than the quiet blessings?
When we wake to a new morning, we can ask God to lead us through yet another day and lay our frustrations, questions, and hopes at the foot of the throne. It may be difficult to start here. You may feel faint of heart, doubt, anger, or maybe no words come to your numb soul. But even our groans are heard, and the Father knows what you cannot say. Even so, could you lay it before Him?
Yet some days are extra hard. We may be trying to just get through it until the evening so we can crawl back into bed until morning. For me, thankfully, these kinds of days are much fewer and farther between than they used to be. I have many days when I feel the purpose and the joy in living. As a follower of Jesus, I can put my trust in the sovereignty of God. “Trust God.” These are neat and simple words. Neat and simple but true words, which, often are slapped across a bumper or a coffee mug. But words alone as a solution to all of the pain and confusion can feel empty. But what cannot be slapped on a sticker or across a mug is the battle that often comes with wanting to trust God.
I wrestle with God about how my life has taken these turns. I wrestle with how a loving God can allow so much heartache and confusion in one life. How can a loving God allow loss after loss when the heart hasn’t yet healed?
The Psalms give me comfort. They are honest about feelings, feelings of dread, fear, heartache, despair, and anxiety. Yet at the same time they are about hope, about God’s faithfulness in times past and present and future. Maybe they were written in part to show us that trusting God is not a thin saying. It is a journey that takes humble courage. God is bringing us through it though there may be blood, sweat, toil, tears and lament. He is sure enough to bring us through the worst of life. He may not change our circumstances but He is in our circumstances. He is always with you. When you feel alone in your storm do you stop and think about that? He is with you. You can persevere. What you are experiencing now, is not all that there is to your life. Keep trusting in the One who pioneered and perfected your faith.
The geese flying forward in their simple V pattern must also get where they are going by exercising their wings, one flap at a time. They don’t get there by gliding, though there is provision for gliding. On the days you feel you can only glide, the Father still keeps you in the air. Faith is an exercise. With each flap of the wing or each step of obedience, our faith can be strengthened. He has a place for us, for our rest and our welfare.
Hebrews 12:2 “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Psalm 119: 81″ My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
but I have put my hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
I say, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget your decrees.
84 How long must your servant wait?
When will you punish my persecutors?
85 The arrogant dig pits to trap me,
contrary to your law.
86 All your commands are trustworthy;
help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.
87 They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your unfailing love preserve my life,
that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.