The worried housewife sprang to the telephone when it rang and listened with relief to the kindly voice in her ear.
“How is your day going Dear?” Asked the voice on the
phone.
"Oh, Mother," said the housewife, breaking into bitter tears, "I’ve had such a bad day. The baby won’t eat, the washing machine broke down. I haven’t had a chance to go shopping, I’ve just sprained my ankle, and I have to hobble around. On top of that, the house is a mess, and I’m supposed to have two couples to dinner tonight.
The mother was shocked and was at once all sympathy.
"Oh, darling," she said, "sit down, relax, and close your eyes. I’ll be over in half an hour. I’ll do your shopping, clean up the house, and cook your dinner for you. I’ll feed the baby, and I know this great repairman who will be at your house promptly to fix the washing machine. Now stop crying. I’ll take care of everything. In fact, I’ll even call George at the office and tell him he ought to come home and help out."
"George?" said the housewife. "Who’s George?"
"Why George! Your husband! ........ Is this 223-1374?"
"No, this is 223-1375."
"Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I dialed the wrong number, but your voice sounds just like my daughter’s."
There was a short pause, and the housewife said, "Does this mean you’re not coming over, after all?"
I know you’ve all had one of those days when you really
wondered if it was worth getting out of bed. I know I have had my share of them and I want to reflect today on what those days are all about and how we can rise above those days when they occur.
Often, our first instinct on days like that is to bemoan the fact that life is not fair. To wonder what we possibly could have done to deserve such a day or even to wonder if God is really concerned with what is going on in our lives.
I want to assure you that no matter what happens in our
lives, God IS in control even when it seems as though
nothing could be further from the truth.
If Judy Frasier is right, the weather is going to change in a couple of days and we might actually start to see some of those winter weather conditions that we have managed to escape so far this year. When you wake up in a couple of days you might find that the temperatures have dropped and the snow has started falling and you will wonder what has happened to the sunshine...
The same happens to us in life in general sometimes.
Sometimes we are so used to things going right and the
skies around us are blue and sunny and then we wake up to a grey day and wonder what happened to everything that was previously right with our world. I want to assure you that God is still God... God is still on the throne even in the midst of those times when it seems that we are facing far to many obstacles and issues in our lives.
Jesus can still bring hope to us and can still be our source of strength even when it seems that our strength is at its lowest point. I know this sounds like a trivial point, but so often we are tempted to throw in the towel and allow frustration and fear to enter in to our lives and I want to tell you this morning as clearly as I possibly can that those thoughts are clearly not of God and are thrust upon us entirely by Satan himself to dissuade us from the pursuits of faith.
As many of you may be, I am often tempted to think that my life is not as meaningful or as full as it could be when I look at my lack of possesions... I sometimes feel that I should be having more influence in other people’s lives, that I should be more gifted or talented or more wealthy or whatever else might measure my status in the eyes of the world.
Then I am cofronted with the truths contained in our
scripture for today and I am clearly reminded of what it truly means to be a follow of Christ. I consider the promises of God that the writer of Hebrews puts forth in this passage. “God will never leave me... God will never forsake me... so I can say with confidence that the Lord is MY helper, I will not be afraid!” I consider the leaders who spoke to me as those leaders who spoke to the first readers of this letter two thousand years ago and I too can be encouraged. I consider that the lives of those who faithfully follow Christ may not have been lucrative or influential by the standards of the world, but that their lives were fruitful beyond measure in terms of eternal things. The outcome of their faithfulness has secured them a place in the Kingdom of God, but it has
also secured a legacyt of faith for me and for others whose lives will be eternally transformed.
It is easy to think that God has abandoned us and that
Christ cannot sustain us when we face obstacles and
burdens in our paths. When the skies grow cloudy, it is easy to forget what it was like to see sunshine or to feel the warmth of the sun on our face. The struggle for us is to remember what those days are like and to the cling to those memories and sensations when the way grows dark and weary.
We need to remember that the one promise of scripture
that will never cease to tbe true no matter the circumstances of our lives is that Jesus Christ IS the same yesterday, today and forever!
Steven Curtis Chapman in his song “This Day” put it better than I could in terms of poetry so I will read those lyrics to you:
Yesterday the sky was bright and clear
I could see the sun and I could hear the song
Faith flowed like a river free and deep
And grace was not so hard to be believed
But that was yesterday
And what was close enough to touch
Now seems a world away
So what about this day
This day all his mercies are new
This day, every promise is true
Father help me to believe
Give me faith I need to know you
And trust you this day!
Who knows what tomorrow’s light will bring
Tears to cry or maybe songs to sing out loud
But only God can see that far away
And he made us for living day by day
‘Cause he wants us to see
That the God that he’s been every day of history
Is who he is this day!
That is my prayer daily and I hope it can be yours as well... No matter what the world brings our way, no matter the obstacles we face, no matter the struggles we endure, that through it all we will recognize that God is still there waiting to sustain us THROUGH all that we face and that He still wants to provide mercy and grace to us in the midst of the storm.
So, while every day may bring unique experiences our way... some good, some not so good in a very real way when we are walking with Jesus every day is the same because HE is the same yesterday (When the sun was shining), today (when we have burdens to bear), and forever (when he will show his grace to us in untold ways if we will only trust him)... that’s who Jesus is and why we can face every day with certainty and with power because of him!
