Your loving kindness will hold me up

The Bible is an amazing thing.  I have read through the Bible twice in my life, but there are still so many verses that take me by surprise because I just either didn’t know they existed, or I completely forgot about them.  One of those verses is Psalm 94:18 in the New American Standard Bible, which says; “If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up.” This verse stuck out to me because of it’s encouragement and comfort it brings to God’s followers.  God wants to keep us standing up and wants to keep us going.  

I feel as though there are many people who are suffering and struggling during this time.  I know that the pandemic has made a lot of things incredibly difficult for a lot of people.  There have been some deaths, lost jobs, lost health, increase in anxiety, and multiple other problems associated with the pandemic.  I know that I personally have had to be present for many different people during this time. I have also suffered an increase in anxiety that has led me to go back to my medication.  The point being, the world is a MESS.  We are struggling, and many feet have slipped.  

However, the world is continuing and therefore we need to as well. The good news is that we have help and life in the Lord.  I do believe that because of these times and struggles, it does remind us to go to the God who loves us and wants to help us from falling.  If a person is falling, then they aren’t easily able to save themselves.  It also is very hard for another person to always be there for them when it is needed.  Therefore it is so much better to have a God who can catch you when you feel as though you are falling.  God is omnipresent which means that he is always present and he is also omnipotent which means that he has unlimited power.  

This psalmist verse reminds me in many ways of a verse that comes later in Matthew,  Matthew 11:28-30 to be exact.  This was a message from Jesus to his followers that really applies to us in our present stage of life.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  

The message in these passages are clear.  God doesn’t want us to suffer.  He doesn’t want us to hold on to all of the problems or the bad things in our lives.  He wants us to put those problems upon himself.  Yet it seems that it is very easy for us to do this.  Maybe this is because we want to feel as though we have somewhat control over our problems and that we can fix whatever problem is going on.  We might feel as though we know best when it comes to our problems.  

However, It is important to remember that God is completely sovereign.  God knows more about our problems than even we do.  God knows what is the best course of action that should be done in order to fix the situation.  God can be the best listener and the best person to care.  Therefore it will actually help our anxiety and our concerns to give up that control.  It is incredibly hard, but it is the thing that can make our lives so much easier and happier.  I struggle with this.  I feel as though, myself, a 25 year old second, year teacher knows more than the God of the universe does.  Sounds pretty crazy when you think about it like that.  

Then there are also sometimes when I believe we as Jesus followers actually believe that God doesn’t have time for us.  There are billions of people in the world.  There is a lot of pain, a lot of problems, that why would it seem God would care about us.  Why would he care about my problem?  I have definitely felt this way.  I have been afraid of really reaching out to God because I don’t feel as though my problems are valid enough to pray over.  I feel as though God does not have time for my small problems. I can only go to him when I have a big problem to solve.  

However, God does love you completely.  God hears all of your problems.  God is not like a person where he can get overloaded.  He can handle all problems with joy and gladness. He doesn’t need you to have a huge problem.  You do not have to just go to him when you have a problem, but you can go to him at any time.  During this time of uncertainty, during this time when you may feel your foot is slipping, and during the time when you feel as though you are firmly planted, know that God’s loving kindness will continue to hold you up.