Take that, you flat-out, plain-old, moony-gloomy, down-in-the-dumps day!
By Jessica Brodie
It was a flat-out, plain-old, moony-gloomy, down-in-the-dumps day. I was sick, my kids were cranky, I’d dropped my lipstick in a crevice somewhere in the depths of my car—pretty much every petty, insignificant thing was going wrong. Have you had those days? They stink!
Then I rounded the corner to see the most glorious purple-mauve sunset over a swath of deep-green trees. My eyes caught a glimpse of it for just a moment or two, but it was long enough to shove my perspective into a cartwheel: There’s a whole big world out there, Jessica—and none of it cares one iota about your silly-old gloomy day.
Just like that, I made a choice: push my own worries aside and push Jesus to the fore.
Nothing had changed, on the surface—I was still sick, and my kids were still cranky. But suddenly everything had changed, because I remembered all the petty, humdrum stuff didn’t actually matter. I love when reality shifts and perspective changes, those times when it out-of-nowhere hits us that even in the hard, even in the bad, even in the thick of it, we’re just one tiny speck in the universe with God at the steering wheel. Truly—it makes everything so clear.
Aren’t we all, even the best of us, guilty of the poor-mes? I know I am! Yet when we remember where we are in the big picture, it all somehow fades. Life is still hard and the problem is still there, but we feel God right beside us, and that’s what matters.
It’s not only written in the skies, in every sunrise and sunset, but also throughout Scripture: God is there. Some examples:
“Don’t be alarmed or terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 CEB)
“The Lord your God is the one who marches with you. He won’t let you down, and he won’t abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
“Don’t fear, because I am with you; don’t be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will surely help you; I will hold you with my righteous strong hand” (Isaiah 41:10)
“The Lord your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory. He will create calm with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17)
“I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age” (Matthew 28:20)
“I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created” (Romans 8:38-39)
Keep looking—you’ll find far more examples than just these. Trust me; I’ve been reading.
So the next time you’ve got the blahs—or worse—remember what I believe is the single, hands-down, most comforting thing, period:
Whether it’s raining or crystal-clear, God is there.
Whether there’s a thunderstorm or a balmy breeze, God is there.
Whether you’re surrounded by friends or foes, God is there.
In birth and in death, in sickness and in joy, in agony and in ecstasy, God is there.
Always.
Forever.
And nothing can separate us.
Take that, you flat-out, plain-old, moony-gloomy, down-in-the-dumps day!