“Do not be afraid of sudden terror
or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,
for the Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being caught.
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.”
- Proverbs 3:26-27 (emphasis mine.)
Such a timely verse to read today. A lot of my time is spent fearing the future…trying to think of the worst that could happen in any given situation so that I know how to respond…being afraid of sudden terror. And there have been certain things that have been pending for the past few months that I am just waiting to land. I’ve been holding my breath, one eye closed and the other barely open, afraid to see a reality that I just don’t want to be so. But something I’ve thought off and on the past few weeks is that whatever reality is – I can’t change it. But that’s not enough: to just accept that I can’t change the things that didn’t turn out the way I wanted….the struggle for me has always been to accept the painful things that happen as God’s best plan.
The Lord will be my confidence. It’s been awhile since I earnestly believed and learned on that. What would that look like? What would my thoughts be if God was truly my confidence and my shelter when I’m expecting and preparing to be put in situations that are hard?
Something tells me that it looks something very much like that which is constantly a struggle: to be happy for others, to rejoice with them when it is the last thing my heart is feeling. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due…
Why? Because I know that God is showing his goodness through their lives in blessing them with something – AND God is blessing me -through sanctifying me, keeping me from idols and other things that aren’t good for me, helping me to to love Him more and keep Christ as precious. But now you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. {Romans 6:22}
…when it is in your power to do it. How? Because of Christ. Because He saved me from my sins and has given me new life in Him. Who loves me and has promised to never leave me. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. {Philippians 4:13}
