Thought for the Day - Wednesday 26 August

 Thought for the Day – Wednesday 26^th August

‘The man’s very words are these: ‘I am worn out God, fit to drop. How can I hope to get through?’  (Proverbs 30: 1)

 

Oh my! There are times aren’t there when we feel fit to drop and begin to lose hope too. Times when life gets on top of us so much and when the pressures and demands we experience make life so difficult to bear, there may even be times when things happen that we just never thought or imagined could ever happen (rather like coronavirus). Sometimes we feel like we are living on a constant knife edge because we never know what tomorrow may bring for us.

 

So yes, today we feel under control with life running smoothly and then wham!.... we experience a disappointment, or a setback, or a hitch to our plans and our whole world can seem as if it is turned upside down and inside out and that in turn can send us spiralling down into a feeling of despair leaving us weary and fit to drop. At times like these it can seem as if one problem simply leads to another and we feel as if we are floundering and getting sucked deeper and deeper into our despair.

 

However, most of the time we do get through these times and we cope with all sorts of pressures but sometimes, just sometimes, there may come a point when faced with all these pressures, where we just cannot see a way out for ourselves, your strength is sapped, your mind is numbed and that’s when we can feel ourselves getting weary, feeling fit to drop, going under and beginning to lose hope and instead walk down a path of despair.

 

Sadly, faith does not always offer us an easy solution to such times but it is a valuable resource for us because we know that whatever we face, nothing, nothing in all creation, can ever separate us from the love of God or be able to overcome God’s purpose for our lives.

 

We talked yesterday of sharing another’s burdens and that would certainly help in situations where folk feel fit to drop and weary with life. Giving another a helping hand is always a wonderful thing to do.

 

Ultimately though, it is by putting our trust in God when we feel absolutely overwhelmed by life that we will find ourselves being offered his hand and that hand will lift our head above the waters of despair, lift us from the depth of our weariness. What is wonderful though is that he will never take his hand away from us – he may only release us a little when the storms of life subside and life begins to calm down for us once more.

 

So, as hymn 270 says:

 

Put all your trust in God,

in duty’s path go on;

walk in his strength with faith and hope,

so shall your work be done.

Give to the winds your fears;

hope and be undismayed;

God hears your sighs and counts your tears,

God shall lift up your head.

 

Prayer

 

Loving Lord,

We come before you now, those of us who are weary, those of us who feel fit to drop, those of us who are despairing and those whose hope is failing. We come with our prayers, and put our trust in you assured that you will hear these prayers we bring, assured that you will embrace us with your loving arms and reach out your hand to us, assured that you will keep our heads above the water and comforted by the fact that you will never leave us and will bring us to a place of calm and peace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.