Recued for a Reason

I have been telling a number of people lately, “With the extension of life expectancy in our modern world, it is turning out that our most influential years are our fifties and sixties. As a result, there is a battle that rages in our forties to keep us from reaching the level of influence for which we were created. The battle takes place at a spiritual level, a social level and a personal level.”
The typical response I get from people sounds like, “I can think of six people right now who fit that description. They have gone Tasmanian devil on their family and friends as they are wreaking havoc with their lives. Everything seemed to be going well until one day it seems a war broke out in their hearts.”
This is certainly not a new concept. The idea of life being a battlefield in which we work out our decisions, attitudes and behaviors is part of what it means to be human. During “normal” seasons of life, we get in a groove and carry out our responsibilities. The transitions of life, however, are a different story. They arrive on the scene with a vengeance and challenge everything we claim to believe.
Psalm 18 is a graphic example of the process. In verse 4-5, we encounter a man (David) who is thrust into a dark season of life without much warning and without a say in the matter. “The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.” In a short period of time, life went from peaceful to threatening. At a human level, David had lost control of his circumstances and was now scrambling to hold onto the life he knew.
I believe God included passages such as this in the Bible because we will all find ourselves in similar circumstances at some point in our lives. Health issues create a crisis. Financial setbacks shake us at the core. A spouse abandons the life we committed to build together. Personal needs overwhelm us. Unscrupulous people seek to take advantage of us or ruin opportunities we have built. When any of these take place, what will we do? Will we shrink from the battle? Will we give in to the devastation and let it ruin our hearts? Will we cling to the Lord in an effort to rise above the circumstances?
As a challenge to all of us to get prepared, David proclaims, “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” (v. 6)
I hope your life is going well today. If it is, please enjoy the privilege and grow to be the strongest person you can be. If it isn’t, I encourage you to call out to Jesus like David did. I can’t promise that everything will instantly get better but I can guarantee God will hear your voice and will walk with you through the valley. Step by step He will strengthen you to influence others when the light shines once again on your journey.