So, being honest with yourself, how many of you have ever had a moment like that? Where something goes totally wrong, and you’re first reaction is: well, since God is all-knowing, and He loves me, and He tells me other stuff, like important stuff, about relationships, and careers, and friends (no, I don’t hear voices…don’t get freaked out, yet…) why didn’t He just tell me: “Hey, Lauren! You wrote that date wrong! Better write that paper this weekend if you don’t want a zero!”
Or maybe that’s just me?
My mom’s answer was “Because it’s not His responsibility.” Yeah…true…
But that was my morning yesterday. I woke up, ready to go, and read my verse for the day:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Philippians 4:4
I read that verse, you know, one of those verses that you hear over and over and over again at church, and just thought, “Cool, I’m doing alright! Thanks God, peace out!” and I went about my morning. (No, I didn’t actually say “peace out” to the Creator of the Universe, but you get my drift).
Little did I know that when I got to my wonderful 9am, on a snow day when classes should have been cancelled, that the music research paper I’d been preparing for all weekend was due that morning, at 9am. Not Wednesday like I had written in my calendar.
And let the water-works begin. I know I’m a baby sometimes, but I was totally convinced this was going to be a zero (praise God, my professor gave me an extension). I went through a thousand-and-one thoughts about the implications: I’d get a zero, and then I’d get a C in the class, and then I wouldn’t get into grad school, and then I would miss meeting my future husband, and that would mean missing God’s call for my life! Can you tell I have a swing towards being a little dramatic?
Only after a frantic call to my mom, sobbing hysterically, did I remember the key word in my verse for the day: rejoice.
Paul uses “rejoice” here, from what I can tell, as what The Free Dictionary calls a “phrasal verb,” where it means to have or posses. “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Have, possess, delight in the Lord always! Not what you want hear when you think you’ve ruined your life, huh? But it’s a good reminder, and Paul makes a great point. We have the Lord always. When we fail a test, or when we have a really bad break-up, we still have the Lord. That was the whole point of the veil being torn, when Jesus bridged that separation between God and man. We have the ability, the opportunity, to have the Lord. And when you think about it that way, all those little things don’t really have as lasting an effect as we’d like to let ourselves believe. I’m not going to remember in two weeks that I didn’t turn that paper in on time, but I am going remember that the Lord is with me, and even when things suck, I can rejoice in the Lord, I can delight in Him, because He loved me enough to seek me out and bridge that gap. We all can because He came for all of us.
I didn’t make this, but I love this little boy. My mom posted this for me on Facebook a few weeks ago, and it makes me smile every time. It’s a good reminder, when the Enemy starts trying to pull us away because we’re getting to close to God for his comfort, that Jesus already has everything under control. Here is where I got this image from, but amazing props to whoever made it. ❤
(P.S. I know I said I was going to talk about Jesus as God…but I think His will comes through better when I try not to plan things too much. If you’re interested, it’ll still be coming! As will a *potentially* Mardi Gras themed recipe!)
The Confuzzled Kitchen 