Rockin' and Rollin'
As best as you can remember, life has never been better. You’ve been rockin’ and rollin’ through life at full stride with a smile on your face and the world at your feet. Everything is just right.
Either you have no worries and no cares at all, or the ones that you do have are so trivial that they’re nothing more than mild irritants. Your relationships with other people are great. Everything seems to be going your way. God is smilin’ on you, you’re obviously in His favor, and you’re just walkin’ it out with Him every day. Yes sir, you’ve got the bull by the horns. No doubt about it. Life is good. No, it’s better than that; life is awesome! One night, and as you’re nodding off to sleep, you’re thinking “Man, my life is so good. Today was just a great day. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow is gonna bring!”
It comes unexpectedly, like a tornado dropping out of the sky.
The next day proves to be the exact opposite of the days leading up to it. The morning begins innocently enough, but you have a slight inkling that some-thing is just not right. Shrugging it off, you begin your day with high expectations.
By mid-morning you know that things have changed. The world seems to be crashing in on you. It all starts with that one thing. But that one thing leads to something else, which leads to something else, ad nauseam. Before you know it, the “domino theory,” (if one upright domino falls, then all adjacent dominoes will tumble as well) has kicked in, and everything in your life has suddenly taken a turn for the worse.
What follows is a downward spiral that can last for days, weeks, and even months. You just know that the world is against you. Worse still is that you believe that God is against you too! You don’t know what you’ve done, or when you did it, but you know that for whatever reason, God has turned His back on you. He’s allowing the world to pummel you. He doesn’t see what you’re going through, because He’s not even looking!
What are you supposed to do now? Where do you turn?
You follow David’s lead. Check out these excerpts from Psalm 43 in The Message:
I counted on you, God.
Why did you walk out on me? 2
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God. 5
You have to realize, just as David did, that God is never against you. Never. He always loves you. He’s always for you. When it seems as if the world is against you, and your situation seems bleak, and you’ve lost hope, and you’re ready to throw in the towel…
Keep your eyes on God. Praise Him. Worship Him. Exalt His name. What you receive in life may not change, but with Him, your perspective of it will change. And while you may not be wearing a smile, you’ll know that you’re not alone. He’s there with you.
