Blessed Beyond the Stress

So I got a little behind this week in my Bible study...not to mention other areas of life.  Mostly because things just did not work out right this week.  Wouldn't you know it, I start a Bible study called Stressed-Less Living and all of a sudden my week got stressful!

Our verse for the week was Psalm 107:19, "Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them in their distress".  This verse has such a powerful message packed into these few words.  Our assignment was to personalize it and plug our name into it and boy was that powerful!  It has been awhile since I did that, but when I did it with this verse it took me all the way back to 2005 when I became a single mom.  That was my moment to cry out to the Lord.

Now we all have things in our life that stresses us out.  It might be something simple such as what to fix for dinner or something on a grander scale like dealing with a life threatening disease.  Each day our to do lists, demands, and pressures keeps growing and growing and sometimes it seems like we are drowning in our troubles.  I read the whole chapter and realized that this verse is repeated several times.  God is speaking to different groups of people that are in distress.  He is speaking to:

1. Those that have drifted away from the Lord and are lost
2. The prisoners
3. Those that are sick
4. Those that are riding the waves of a storm

In the midst of these struggles there is help.  The next couple of verses in that passage are:  "He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men".  Psalms 107:20-21 

Have you ever felt like you were done, finished, stuck in a grave?  I am sure you know what I am talking about, but have you ever been rescued?  There is a sense of freedom and overwhelming relief when you are saved.  My grave was being abandoned by my spouse who vowed to never leave.  My grave was being left with two young children and being cut off financially.  I am talking about money moved to another account, my credit card reported stolen by my husband, he wanted to take my car, and oh yeah he was trying to sell the house out from under me.  Just when it seemed like there was no end, I was rescued.  No, I did not win the lottery.  It was hard and it still is, but I was rescued from that grave.  I received an unexplainable peace about my situation. 

When we are hit with troubles it is hard to see the blessings, but I believe that we are to use our "stuff" as a witness to show others that God is there.  We are to give thanks!  I was able to find the blessings in the midst of my troubles.  

Now back to this week.  I got sick so that threw my whole week off.  For those of you who know me I do not stop for anything so being sick threw a rock into my wheel.  I got behind for the week then I got hurt playing with my dog when he jumped up and hit me in the nose.  More than the pain (and the fear of it being broken), I think I was just mad at myself for not being more careful.  I am my worst critic!!  I woke up today (Sunday) and decided to write down a list of blessings to help get me out of my slump.  This is part of our Bible study assignment each week so for this week I am blessed that:

• I have two amazing teenagers that have beaten the statistics that come with being raised by a single parent
• I have caring friends that look out for me
• My daughter changed her work schedule so we could go to church together
• I have a job where I can not only teach children with special needs, but show them that they are loved
• I have a puppy that shows unconditional love no matter how much trouble he gets into!!

If you are feeling down or stressed I encourage you to "cry out" and then ask the Lord to help you see the blessings in the midst of your troubles.  

Blessings!