Back in the Valley

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I've been away for a week at our denomination's General Council meetings in Columbus, OH.  It was truly a mountaintop experience for me.  Wonderful worship, hearing from the Lord through all the speakers, and fellowshipping with 3,000 people from all around the U.S. and the world.

 But as always happens with the mountaintop experience, I have to come back down and into the valley.  And that is always a deflating type of experience.  A messy house, a car that needs repair, unexpected expenses and a host of other issues await me.

 I woke up this morning and as I lay in that state between sleep and being alert, I felt the knots return to my stomach and the worries buzzing around my head like flies.  As I got up and made my way to my chair with my Bible, the following verse jumped off the page at me.

 Psalm 28:7 (HCSB) ~

 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I praise Him with my song.

I felt peace wash back over me because my trust is in the Lord.  I know where my help comes from and so no matter what faces me, I can have joy because God is on my side.  My car is still rattling and making weird sounds and I still have a pile of bills.  I have a to-do list a mile long and my house still looks like a hurricane hit it.  But, I am praising Him today because God is my strength and shield.

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