When God Shows Up
Too often we forget where our peace came from and merely say that it all worked out. God showed up, and we need to proclaim that as much or more than we proclaimed the trouble.
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When God Shows Up (by Tim Klink of Prison Discipleship Ministry)
Psalm 126:1-2
When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
World events can be enough to overwhelm a person, but the things that impact us the most are the personal things that enter our lives, and attempt to rob us of our hope, joy, and strength. Medical issues that suddenly turn very serious; family members who suddenly become rebellious or very distant who once were close; financial loads that seem to never resolve.
As believers we know in our hearts that we are to pray, and ask for God’s intervention in the valley, but there seems to be no answer from heaven, and no end to the crisis. Instead of drawing us closer to our Lord, it tends to drive us farther away from Him, which brings even more sorrow and guilt. “Where is God?” is the cry from within us that we are ashamed to utter, but it is there nevertheless.
I think of the countless numbers of people who were held in concentration camps for so long, and how their faith was stretched beyond imagination. But then that one day came when the allies entered the camp, and the enemy was no longer. I remember seeing pictures of those precious souls beaming through their battered faces with a joy that they thought would never be had again. Their captivity had been turned, and to some it must have been like a dream. And if it were a dream, they wished it to never stop.
We seem to find some degree of comfort in sharing our troubles with others, and there certainly is nothing wrong with that. But when that day comes when God shows up with a powerful deliverance, and everything that we had been experiencing is suddenly turned away, we often neglect to proclaim that to others for God’s glory. Too often we forget where our peace came from and merely say that it all worked out. God showed up, and we need to proclaim that as much or more than we proclaimed the trouble.
