Eugene Peterson, in commenting on Psalm 121, remarks ‘the only serious mistake we can make when illness comes, when anxiety threatens, when conflict disturbs our relationships with others is to conclude that God has got bored of looking after us… or that God has become disgusted with our meandering obedience and decided to let us fend for ourselves for a while, or that God is too busy elsewhere…’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘The Journey’ P 29) Many of us really do react like this when trouble comes our way. We either beat ourselves up for our failings and mistakes and conclude that God will do the same (thereby failing to appreciate His mercy and grace yet again) or we judge God by our own standards and assume He is fickle and capricious (thereby failing to appreciate His faithfulness and steadfastness) or we presume that God really has quite a hard job running the universe and that He is too busy to answer our prayers and cries for help (thereby insulting His omnipotence and sovereignty.) We need constantly to have our understanding of God’s character shaped by the Bible so that we do not reach faulty conclusions in our reasonings.
Our interpretation of what happens in our life is often coloured by our beliefs and by the fact that we inhabit time and do not see things from God’s perspective. Our ‘disasters’, as the story of Joseph demonstrates, are actually being worked for good as God’s plans for our lives march forward. (Gen 50:20) God is interested in our everyday lives, in the ordinary and mundane, in the trivial as well as the tremendous. He is the God who helps us in the little things as well as in the big things. The God of Genesis 1 who created light out of darkness is the God who is still watching over us on a daily basis to keep us from evil and nothing can thwart His plans (see Romans 8:28-39). Casting Crowns remind us:
‘Your world’s not falling apart, it’s falling into place
I’m on the throne, stop holding on and just be held.’ (‘Just Be Held’, Casting Crowns)
God is there to help us, never slumbering or sleeping, never giving up on us. He is our Guardian and our constant companion on life’s journey:
‘You go before me,
You’re there beside me
And if I wander
Love will find me.
Goodness and mercy
Will always follow.
You go before me,
My Guardian.’ (‘Guardian’, Ben Cantelon)