Too proud to accept it?

But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. (Psalm 59:16)

Where do you turn when you are in distress? Do you veg out in front of the TV, streaming this or that in the hopes you can take your mind off whatever is causing all the stress? Do you head to the fridge or scour the cupboards to find another snack? Do you go online to buy one more thing you really won't use all that much? What we do in our times of stress and where it is we turn when we need to 'destress' is very important for us to recognize. It could show us just how much we depend upon what 'we' can do rather than what God wants to do.

Things will always be there that give us great pain, anxiety, or sorrow. It is part of life to deal with this kind of stuff. The acute physical or mental anguish the stressful thing causes isn't meant to be dealt with on our own, though. When we are attempting to deal with it all on our own, we are likely to find our 'fix' for the stress is not quite hitting the mark. We might even get to the place where we feel more guilty about having done whatever it is we did to 'destress' than we felt the anguish of the original stress!

Stress is 'natural', but we have been given supernatural strength to overcome it. When we turn to Jesus at the first notice of the distressing thing, we might just find the physical or mental anguish we 'could' experience is already made lighter because he is taking that load off of our minds and hearts and placing it in his. The more we learn to turn to him first, the less guilt and anxiety we will feel over our not so perfect 'fixes' to the stress because we won't be heaping guilt upon guilt on top of all that stress.

Have you ever refused a helping hand? I have, and it wasn't because I didn't need it. It was because I was too proud to accept it. When God reaches out to you in your 'distress', he is asking you to take his hand so he can help you get through it easier. Will the stressful stuff still be there for us to 'go through'? Probably, but we 'go through' together, not alone. We 'go through' in his strength and power, not ours. Just sayin!

The Lord is for me (and you, too)

Let all who fear the Lord repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.” In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? (Psalm 118:4-6)

The more we interact with people around us, the more we realize it is almost impossible to please everyone. There will always be someone in the group who thinks differently, opposing every move we make. What do we do when we face opposition? If you are like me, you get a little distressed by the resistance at times. You might want to just pull in like a snail inside its shell, but that doesn't solve the issue, does it? I have learned to take my distress to the only one who can 'de-stress' it - God. I bring the issue to him, but I also bring the 'players' in the issue - including me! There are times when my attitude is the one needing adjustment, while it is the attitude of others that needs it at others. Who am I to judge which one of us needs the adjustment? I have found it is much better to leave that one in God's hands.

What can mere people do to us? If we have lived our lives trying to be people-pleasers, then we think those individuals who we have worked so hard to 'please' can do a great deal to us, but nothing could be further from the truth. People cannot destroy us - though they may try. People cannot get at the Spirit of God deep within us - try as they might, the presence of God is our refuge, and it is where we flee when under attack. Sometimes I need to remind myself over and over that God is for me - all the fear that is trying to rise up from within my emotions is never going to change the security I have in him. It won't change it for you, either! We may have to tell ourselves over and over that God is for us and we will not fear, but that is okay. God knows we sometimes battle against those emotions, and he stands at the ready to help us rise above their attack.

The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things! (Psalm 118:14-15)

The strength within isn't always evident - sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we walk in a power not our own, a victory that has already been won, and a placement that remains secure regardless of the enemy's attack. Just sayin!

S.O.S.

You cried out to Me, I heard your distress, and I delivered you; I answered you from the secret place,where clouds of thunder roll.  (Psalm 81:7 VOICE)

Distress is the condition of great pain, anxiety, or sorrow.  It can be real or imagined - acute or chronic.  It have both physical and mental aspects.  The extent to which one experiences distress has the potential to also be the extent to which one experiences God's deliverance and grace!  "The darkest day, if you live till tomorrow, will have passed away."  (William Cowper)  Much can be said about the dawning of a new day and the potential it brings, but even the brightest of days can be overshadowed by the greatest of distress.

If you ever wondered why those who are in distress send out the "S.O.S" signal, it may because in those places of our darkest hours we experience the depth of longing for someone to simply "save our souls".  We cannot do it ourselves and we earnestly desire for someone else to come along, bear the burden we have been carrying, and release us from the tremendous physical and mental anguish we have been enduring.  The one experiencing the sinking ship doesn't need another oar, but rather a life raft!  God knows our specific need and he matches the intervention with that need!

God isn't cruel when he awaits our cries for help - sending up those "save our souls" messages to him.  It is almost as though he allows us to experience a little more of the salty waters battering us around more than we'd like, because the truth is that even in the darkest hour of our anguish, we sometimes think we can swim to shore!  Many of us would rather swim than admit we need anyone to intervene for us - that is until the sharks start circling us!  Amazingly, the strength which bore us up in determined stubbornness up to the point we saw the fins emerge from the darkest sea just vanishes in the presence of that which now stands between us and our deliverance!

Distress isn't God's plan for our lives, but it may be what drives us to our knees, allowing us to admit we are not able to "swim to shore".  It may be what reveals the hardness of our hearts, but it just may also be the avenue by which God shows us how much our hearts can be changed in his care.  Job was a man who lived his life to please God and he experienced some of the greatest of distress a man can endure.  He lost flocks and herds to the invading thieves, wildfires, and gangs from far off lands - financial woes.  He lost all his children to the ravages of a storm so great it leveled the home where they were gathered to feast together - relationship woes.  He lost his health, experiencing great physical agony on top of these financial and relationship woes.  Yet, in all his agony (distress), he comes to the same conclusion - God awaits his cries for help.

Did Job get there immediately, or did he have to wallow in his distress a little? It may give you encouragement to realize he was just like us - wallowing a little, agonizing over his condition, and even complaining about what fate had come his way.  He even was observed questioning if he actually "deserved" this misfortune.  Sound like anyone you might know?  I can admit to some of the same reactions to my own distress in life - I didn't like it one bit, complained a whole lot, and eventually came to the same conclusion as did Job - when we are willing to lift the "SOS", God is finally free to intervene!  As long as we continue to think we can save our own souls, God will allow us to experience the futility of that plan!  Just sayin!

What is your distress doing to you?

Distress is any great pain or sorrow which weighs us down and almost keeps us from moving as we should.  It could be some element of physical suffering, or some mental anguish.  Some call it "trouble", while others use a more sophisticated term like "affliction" or "tribulation".  Either way, it is junk we don't want to have to deal with, but somehow it always manages to find us. In wartime movies, you might see a plane billowing black smoke, pilot frantically attempting to send out a distress call indicating his location as he plummets to the earth.  The call is something of a plea for someone to notice he is "going down" in hopes he might be rescued at some point if he survives this horrific event.  I think there are times we view distress almost in a similar way - as if we were "going down" - so we cry out, hoping someone, anyone will notice us and come to our rescue.   

Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.  (2 Corinthians 7:10 MSG)  

There are different kinds of distress - probably as many as there are humans that walk this planet.  It comes in the form of the kind which some might refer to as "self-inflicted" - like when we make a really bad decision and then feel ourselves plummeting out of control, heading toward a crash.  There is also the type of affliction or distress some would say comes from some unseen force in their lives - like when you just feel pressure, but cannot put your finger on where it is coming from, when it started, or how to make it end. Yep, we even attribute distress to others - the "other" being the entire source of the pressure or affliction we  might be enduring.  Either way, it appears distress is common among men and women alike, so isn't it about time we learn how to deal with it?

The opposite of distress is peace, assurance, and freedom.  To understand how to deal with distress, we have to learn what steals away our peace, brings us to the place of doubt, and captures us in its clutches so tightly. Often trying to identify the cause of distress, we just have to look at these three things - peace disturbers, assurance robbers, and captors of our freedom:

- Peace disturbers:  Peace is more than just the absence of disturbance! Some of us need a little disturbance once in a while to actually get us moving in the right direction once again.  Think of the last time you lazily drifted into the lane next to you on the freeway and heard just a little toot of a horn from a passing motorist in the opposite lane.  What did that horn toot provide?  Yep, it disturbed your peace just enough to put you back on course in your lane again.  So, not all disturbance is a bad thing.  Even the calmest, stillest running brook is moving!  If it weren't, it would be kind of pond-like and scummy.  The movement keeps it fresh.  Peace really is a state of no longer being at a place of "strife" in your life.  In other words, you deal with the antagonists to your peace!  Doing this means we have to stop long enough to actually figure out what is impacting our peace - even if it is something we might be doing to ourselves!  Remember - it doesn't mean we stop moving - we still need to move, but just in the right "lane"!

- Assurance robbers:  Assurance is just a fancy word for confidence or certainty.  When the stock markets began to go haywire several years back, housing prices plummeted, people made runs on banks and stashed hard earned monies into their secret hiding places in their homes just in case the banks were going to go "belly up", and the like.  Why?  Confidence in the system was broken.  Those who responded in panic were actually showing where it was they placed their confidence!  When confidence is misplaced, it is easy for it to be "robbed away" from us in what appears to be any kind of "distressing" or "conflicting" circumstance, isn't it?  I used to have a good pre-wash spray which actually took most stains out of my clothes without much effort from me on laundry day.  I switched to a brand everyone was talking about at less expensive, but still able to do the work as well.  Guess what?  I am back to the more costly brand because it simply works better - I have more confidence in its ability to perform as promised!  When we understand the strength of our foundation in Christ, we stand assured.  When we haven't allowed this foundation to be built in our lives as strongly as it should be, we sometimes find ourselves a little less certain when the storms come.

- Captors of our freedom:  For a captor to actually do his job, he has to be able to over-power or out-think the one he seeks to take into captivity.  It doesn't mean he has the most muscles, or the highest IQ.  It means he knows how to use what it is he has at his disposal.  I have seen some pretty burly men brought to their knees by some pretty wimpy looking dudes - just because they knew how to use their abilities to their advantage.  This is how our captors work.  They out-smart us by affecting our peace or mucking with our assurance.  They over-power us by making us think OUR abilities are insufficient to stand up to THEIRS.  Truth is - they are probably right!  It isn't OUR abilities they should be faced with - it is CHRIST'S abilities IN US they should have to deal with!  If they come face-to-face with those abilities, they don't stand a chance of affecting our freedom in Christ!

Not sure what is bringing you a little distress today, but remember what our passage declares:  Distress which drives us TO God turns us around.  It re-establishes our sense of peace, gives us the certainty we are on solid footing, and puts forward the power of Christ, not the mildness of our own abilities. Just sayin!

Send up the flares!

 ¹⁰Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.  ^11-12And now, isn't it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You're more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you've come out of this with purity of heart. 

(2 Corinthians 7:10-12)

Paul knew that his letter to the Corinthian church, encountering their lackadaisical approach to sin in their midst, caused them some "distress".  That is often the case when sin is encountered in our lives - we find some discomfort in the exposure and we feel "distressed".  Distress is often described as that which causes us pain, anxiety, and often sorrow.  For that reason, we all have a dread or sense of "mourning" whenever we think about those things that bring distress into our lives.

I would like us to think of this from a different perspective - beginning to see distress as a "signal" that we need help.  When a ship or an airplane finds they are in trouble (sinking or unable to maintain altitude), they send out a "distress signal".  The hope is that someone will hear that SOS and respond by coming to their rescue.  The purpose of the signal is rescue!  That is what Paul pictures for us in this entire letter to the Corinthian church.  He wanted to bring truth - uncomplicated by human opinion - and then see it do its work in the lives of those who would embrace it.  

For those willing to embrace the truth, the result was "rescue".  That is the case in our lives, as well.  When truth brings exposure of some type of sin in our lives (those small compromises or those outright BIG sins), we have two choices.  We can either deny they exist (and go down with the ship in the process!), or we can send out a "distress signal" that acknowledges we need rescue.  Paul reminds us that when we choose to admit we are in distress, we find the means for our rescue in Christ.

Distress is designed to drive us toward God - not deeper into depression, distrust, or despair.  When a stranded motorist places a flare along the roadside, it is placed there to call attention to both the condition of the car and the need of the motorist.  The car needs the "healing" touch of the mechanic - the motorist needs the protection and assurance of knowing that their signal will result in the attention they need.  

Paul says we will never regret the pain of distress - but this is conditioned on our using the present distress as a signal we need help, not as a means to become even more resentful and bitter toward God.  If we embrace our present distress in this manner, we will be driven toward the one who can help us in the midst of it.  If we allow distress to "goad us" toward God, rather than away from him, we will know no regrets.  The circumstances that act as those "goads" may not be comfortable for the moment, but they have life-long rewards in the end.

Think of the stranded passenger of an airplane that has "gone down" in the wilderness.  As the distress signal is repeatedly sent, their expectation is turned toward their rescuer(s).  They trust that the signal will be heard - in turn, they will soon be rescued.  Sometimes we send up our "signal" of our distress, and when our rescue is not immediate, we waiver in our trust that the signal is being heard.  The "wilderness" is a trying place - it tests our faith.  We are brought to the end of our trust in "self" and are exposed to new depths of learning to rely on another to do what we cannot do for ourselves - rescue!

The moment we realize that we are never alone in our distress (our signal is indeed being heard "loud and clear") - we will change our perspective about that which is giving us that distress.  We will no longer see it as a thing that creates anxiety, sorrow, or fear.  Instead, we will think of it as something that is stretching our capacity for hope, encouragement, and joy.  In other words, we are allowing the distress to drive us toward God!

You might be sending up the flares today in your own lives.  If so, stand firm in your hope!  Those flares are being acknowledged - your S.O.S. is seen and heard.  Your help is on the way - the things that are moments of distress today will be memories of glory tomorrow!