Look around. It is easy to get discouraged.
-A 6 year old shoots his teacher. He got a hold of his mother’s gun and took it to class.
-4 college students in Idaho are murdered.
-Healthy, fit athletes have “medical events” and collapse, some die.
-My retirement (such as it was) took a huge hit in 2022.
-Eggs are $6 a dozen. $6!!!
-Overdoses and suicides are reaching alarming heights.
-Loss of a loved one. Loss of a job. Wayward child. Loss of faith. The list is endless.
So is discouragement. David experienced it. “Why are you downcast, O my soul?” (Read the rest in Psalm 42:11)
Moses was so downcast at one point about the Israelites that he asked God to take his life. Elijah, after his victory against the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, ran and hid out from the wrath of Jezebel. He wanted to die. Jeremiah. Even Paul was overwhelmed from time to time.
Discouragement is a normal reaction. Life is hard and all we see are mountains, rocky paths, and never-ending obstacles.
But we have a promise from God that He is faithful. His love never ends and His presence never disappears. His steadfastness never wavers and His faithfulness never changes.
I don’t always know what is coming. No one does. I don’t always know where it will end up. No one does. I just know wherever that is, God will be there to meet me.
Even when I can’t “see” Him, I can trust Him. As I read recently: “We can trust His heart, even when we can’t see His path.”