"This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." (Psalm 34:6-8 NIV)
Have you ever found yourself in the midst of troubles? An isolated incidence of trouble is one thing, but multiplied troubles are an entirely different thing. It reminds me of the Star Trek episode, The Trouble With Tribbles; it began with one cute little Tribble, and ended up with the whole Starship Enterprise overrun with Tribbles! Sometimes it seems our life is the Starship Enterprise and we have more troubles/Tribbles than we bargained for. In these places where troubles mount to outrageous heights, we are left with a choice: We can become buried under our troubles and try to dig our way out on our own, or we can call out for help. When we opt to figure things out on our own, we almost always end up in more trouble than when we started. I can honestly say that every time I attempted to get out of my troubles in my own strength it never worked. But every time I yielded, every time I called out to the Lord, He heard me and 'saved me out of all my troubles.' Just last year I suddenly found myself without a place to live, without a source of income, in a new city, with few connections, and it all happened within a matter of a few hours. Those are troubles. But, I had learned to pray, I had learned to trust in the fires of affliction I had walked through before. So I called out to the Lord, and within 48 hours I had a home, I had a place to practice, and I had a big dose of hope. I had tasted and seen that the Lord is good. If a chef sets a plate of tasty food in front of you, but you never dig in, you just let it sit there and you don't partake of it, you won't know if it is good or not, right? So it is with the Lord. He came, He lived, He died for you, and He rose again to set you free, and yet so often we treat Him like He is the parsley on the plate rather than the main dish. We don't partake of Him. In John 6:36 Jesus says of Himself, "I am the bread of life: he that comes to me will never hunger; and he who believes on me will never thirst." In Psalm 23 David writes, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Psalm 46:1 says this; "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." When we taste/partake of Him, when we ingest Him into our lives, when He becomes our food we learn that He is good, very good. We learn that He is our refuge, the place where we can find shelter in the midst of our troubles. We learn that He is our strength and that nothing is too hard for Him. We learn that He is our help, and we are not on our own, nor left alone. So, have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good? Or are you trying to make your own food, and He is simply a garnish you add onto your plate? Or are you stubbornly refusing to eat what is right in front of you, what has been prepared for you? Have you looked in the mirror of your heart lately?--you look a little thin and undernourished dear one. I encourage you to pick up the fork of faith and dig in...you will not be disappointed!!! Taste and See I have tasted dirt, remains of earth My life was an endless sea of pain Trouble came rushing into my world choking me, changing my name I have tasted ash, remains of death Loss so profound and deep Poison vast and unrelenting into my veins began to seep I have tasted gravel, remains of rock Stubborn places I couldn't chew Breaking apart my pretty teeth on pieces of Pride's residue I have tasted brass, remains of metal Judgement weighing me down Not seeing the journey set forth I threw others onto the ground I have tasted life, remains of Christ A Phoenix raised out of the fire I have tasted I have seen that He is good No other food I now desire... Written by Anne Marie Hawke June 2020 To subscribe to my blog or to find out more about my writing, please visit my website at hawkewriter.com
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qUIET IN CHAOSQuiet in Chaos is a blog about nothing, everything, and all things inbetween…it’s a space, an ellipsis, a deep pause. Life can be chaotic, and often needs more moments of quiet…So join me as I share and give through the written word, the place I find my Quiet in Chaos… Archives
February 2022
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