The Pages of Your Life

I love when the Lord sends me a written reminder of how He is working in my life. This morning it was through Psalm 102 which is really a Psalm of lament. I've spiraled down the road of lamenting in the past two weeks. And while each of the things I'm stressing about on their own are not the end of the world, collectively they feel that way. 

We have aging and frail parents who require a lot of time and attention. Our washing machine died, our hot water heater is banging (a sign of sediment build-up). This week we got hit with a huge tax bill adding up to many thousands of dollars. We have a wedding coming up which requires resources. Our car is on it's way to the junk heap. I felt really de-valued by a situation beyond my control. And a family member is going through a crisis. All of these things together has caused me to have knots in my stomach and to be honest, to say, "What's the point?"

So as I was reading in Psalm 102 and praying this morning, I came across these words in the middle of the Psalm.

Psalm 102:17-22 ~

He will pay attention to the prayer of the destitute and will not despise their prayer.

This will be written for a later generation, and a newly created people will praise the Lord: He looked down from His holy heights—the Lord gazed out from heaven to earth—to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to set free those condemned to die, so that they might declare the name of Yahweh in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem, when peoples and kingdoms are assembled to serve the Lord.

I distinctly heard the Lord ask, "The point is the story you are writing for later generations." Will those who follow me see a beautiful story of trust and acceptance and certainty that the Lord was center in my story? Or will my pages read of anxiety and fearfulness and uncertainty? I want to say that the first question applies to me, but I'm not always sure about that. 

I know the past few days I've kind of been freaking out! This Psalm was a beautiful reminder of how the things I face are nothing in the light of eternity. My reaction to things in the here and now matter for those coming in the future. My belief in God's sovereignty affects how others will view the Lord.

The pages of our life matter. When people read them will our responses to our circumstances point to the Lord's goodness  and provision or will they shout the message, "God is powerless?"

You may not see why so many hard things are happening all at once or even over the course of your life, but your response to those struggles are writing your life story. Let the future generations see a book that is full of hope, faith and trust in a living God.