Psalms 85:12-13 (NIV)
12 The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.
Are you facing hard times in your family or job? Feeling stretched in every possible direction? Want to throw in the towel and quit? Take heart you are not alone. This thing called life is not all the positive talkers say it is. But also you must remember that living in this fallen world will not be your experience forever.
In this world you will have tribulation, our Lord promised as much in John 16:33 so this should not surprise you. The word for tribulation here means wine press. This life will bring you to the point of utter exhaustion often. You will find waves of despair that will sweep over you and you will find yourself on the brink of a bottomless pit often but you must not let these feelings mislead you.
This is not as it will be forever; it is only while you are in this flesh. The psalmist speaks of another day when the Lord will indeed give what is good. Everything that will add to your enjoyment of life will soon be yours for all eternity. It will come when you are least expecting it.
So are you to live with this state of constant despair while you are in this body? Not always. C. S. Lewis spoke of it in such words when he wrote that this life is not the mountain top that we desire. Often this life is the deep valley but ever so often our God breaks through the despair and gives us a brief glimpse of heaven. We find ourselves on top of the world thinking that we will never fail again to believe in God and to walk with him. We are so convinced of this that we deceive ourselves into thinking this life is going to be great with one thrill ride after another.
When we come down from the mountain we all too soon discover that is not the case. The ones we love do not see things the way we do and we are once again plunged into another battle with our sinful flesh and the cursed world in which we live. We begin to question ourselves, thinking we must have sinned somewhere for this to get as bad as it is.
This possibly could be the case but I suggest another possibility to consider, you live in a fallen world and what you are now experiencing is what the Lord said was tribulation. As you walk with God through the valley he develops within you a growing desire to be with him. The things of the world begin to lose their appeal and you find yourself beginning to live more in tune with Him and less in tune with the world.
What can you say to yourself in these times? Exactly what the psalmist did, "The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest." It does not matter how you feel or what you think presently, God is working for your good and his glory and he guarantees it with his word.
True revival happens when God's people lose their attraction for the things of this world and find their true enjoyment in God alone. O to be so caught up to be with the Lord would change our view of everything.
Lord, rend the heavens and come down and dwell in our midst while we wait eagerly for your return.
Praying and Longing for His return,