Never Alone!

One of my favourite past time includes curling up (on bed, couch or floor) and worrying over all my problems, including those that don’t exist. And the anxiety is usually double when I’m PMS-ing. I am very good at stressing myself with things that are out of my control. And that bad part is, nobody asked me to do all of this! No one asked me to find solutions for things not in my control. But nevertheless, I do it like it’s my favourite homework.

We all face problems the size of huge armies frequently in our lives. And whether we pray about it or not, we worry to death over it. Sometimes we think that the problem is there because we have failed to pray properly. So, we immediately start binge-praying for the problem to go away. At other times we try to find various human solutions. Whatever we do, our aim is one thought: Make That Problem Go Away.

What we forget is that the problem is here in the first place because God allowed it. And he allowed it to either strengthen you or teach you a new lesson. Whether it is strengthening or teaching a lesson, the armies you see against you cannot harm even a hair on your head if they want to. In fact, the fight is not your fight at all.

“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s” ~ 2 Chronicles 20: 15

All you have to do is pray to God and he will deliver you out of it. He will strengthen you to be able to bear the arrows shot at you. Pray and ask him the wisdom to learn whatever he wishes to teach you. And when the war is over, you will realize that all your fear was for nothing!

One story which my mother told me when I was young is about a man who was walking through a beautiful meadow. Let’s call him John. Now, John wasn’t alone, for Jesus was there walking by him. The weather was beautiful and the walk was pleasant as both were chatting well. The grass bore their imprints and when John turned back, he could see two sets of footprints imprinted across the beautiful meadow.

Soon, the path turned rough and rocky. The sun suddenly started scorching. There were thorns on the path and John was finding it difficult to walk through it. To make matters worse, Jesus had disappeared! He turned back and saw that the rough path he walked on had only one set of footprint. John was feeling irritated at the sun and rocks. He started to mutter to himself, “This Jesus! He was there all along and disappeared when troubles came. He always becomes the vanishing magician when I need him the most”. He continued to walk. However, his feet weren’t hurt much by the heat or stones. After a while, he reached another pleasant meadow where he saw Jesus walking next to him again. Angrily he asked, “Where were you when I needed you?” Jesus quietly said, “I was right next to you as always.” John said, “No! You weren’t! I saw only one pair of footprints!” Jesus said, “That was because I was carrying you. Those footprints were mine”. A shocked John looked down to see Jesus’s feet covered in blisters from the heat and cut with sharp stones.

Whatever your case is, God is always there with you, standing in front of you to protect you and to carry you whenever you feel weak. Even when you think you are alone, he is there carrying you so that not even the sun or moon can harm you. So the next time you think there is a huge army around you… don’t freak out. Instead, know that The God of Victory is right by your side, holding you and helping you get through. Trust him to fight the battle for you.

~Lilac Blossom