Have you ever experienced this? You’re moving along, full of faith, then you hit a pothole of disappointment. Your prayers get punctured by betrayal and loss; your joy runs headlong into a detour sign. You remain on the road, but what once filled your heart with hope and wonder has evolved into a foggy skepticism. What happened?
Life…. fallen-world life.
When fallen life interrupts our journey, we get tempted to lock into human answers and explanations. We stop fixing our eyes on the Fixer and instead stare at our circumstances until they loom over us like giants. We walk aimlessly toward a Promised Land which seems out of reach. Why? Because unlike the psalmist, we don’t command our souls to praise the Lord and remember his benefits.
Benefits like:
- His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life (2 Peter 1:3).
- And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear (1Corinthians 10:13).
- If God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?
The only thing that can steal our victory is forgetting we have it. Forgetting that our inability to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to show grace, to release expectations, is just that — our inability — not God’s.
We can invite God into every aspect of our lives and let him use even the potholes to move us forward. Because that’s the kind of God we serve. One whose benefits we best not forget.
Father, forgive us for failing to trust you in difficult times. Thank you for dwelling in us through your Spirit, who gives us all the resources we need to obey you day by day. Help us remember all you have done to secure our victory. May our souls truly bless you.
Throughout This Day: Choose one of the “benefits” listed in Psalm 103 and meditate on it as you go from task to task.
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