“God is our strength . . an ever present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 NIV
“Going through trouble well requires the company and support of someone alongside you.”
My thoughts today are about, “the blind side.”
Don’t be surprised; no one is immune all the time from trouble’s painful reality. The ancient man, Job, explained his discovery of this truth, “How frail is humanity! How short is life, and how full of trouble.” Job 14:1 NLT. Trouble is a common experience of life, and some of it is an unexpected or inevitable result of choices made and actions you’ve taken. At other times, trouble that touches you may be an unintended result from some action of another person.
Some trouble just comes randomly from life. I have been spared much that others may well have experienced, but I have had a share along the way with everyone else. Trouble often comes on your “blind side.” I wasn’t looking for it; I didn’t welcome it; I didn’t enjoy it, but I have tried to learn from it.
Trouble is not fun for anyone, but it can yield a maturity of life and faith learned in no other way. Trouble is to be faced, with faith not fear. The Bible says, “Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when it is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. If you need wisdom – if you want to know what god wants you to do – ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.” James 1:2-5 NLT. James understood three elements in character and spiritual development: trouble, everyone experiences it at one time or another; time, you must exercise endurance to rightly learn from it; and truth, Godly perspective brings wisdom. Trouble is something you will have; time is something you must give; truth is something you must know!
Among the things I have learned, a very important thing is this: going through trouble successfully requires the company and support of someone alongside you. “Two are better than one . . if one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble . . a person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back to back and conquer. Three are even better.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NLT. Who walks alongside you when life is difficult?
In current vernacular, you need someone who “has your back.” In the recent movie, The Blind Side,” Sandra Bullock’s character tells the young football player the single necessity of the left tackle is to protect the quarterback’s blind side. Everyone has a blind side. There are two questions of the soul that you will ask when you face troubling times or people (what the Bible calls “tribulation and persecution”): are you there for me, and do you care about me? Prize the gift of those who offer their company and answer those questions of the heart when you struggle.
There will be times when you may feel alone and vulnerable, and you may actually be alone at that moment. Fortunately, even when no one else can be there for you – when they cannot, or will not, do that, God has your back! Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” Psalm 27:10 NIV. The dearest of friends may not be able to be near, but God can and will be there for you always. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in times of trouble. Therefore, I will not fear . .” Psalm 46:1-2 NIV. God is ever present with you, even when every circumstance and emotion suggests differently – He is ever present, always there!
My prayer for you today is: be confident in God and His care for you.