The Beach

My niece is studying to be a nurse and is working in a hospital. One afternoon she posts on one of her social network sites that she "is hoping when she gets older and delirious that her hallucinations are happy. "

I commented on her post and she explains further; "No I'm at work... The floor I work on is a mix between neurology and urology and I’m psy sitting two patients for my last eight hour of this shift... One thinks he's on the beach in Martha’s Vineyard and the other just moans and screams... I want to be the one who thinks he's on the beach."

So how do you view life? We live in a world full of insecurities and situations less than ideal. How we think about our situation matters. Who we trust within our situations matters more. I understand my niece’s observation when life reduces us to deliriums and hallucinations; she wants them to be good. Those of us who have the foundation of a solid faith in an unchanging God can count on more than a pleasant disposition. We can count on an unseen reality that is more real than what we now think is real. It all comes down to what do we trust in, or more important who do we trust.

In Isaiah this question was serious business. Isaiah 57 compares not trusting in God with idolatry that included orgies and child sacrifice, pretty sobering when you think about it. I think it illustrates the extremes people go to in order to trust in themselves or in anything other than God.

Isaiah 57:5
You burn with lust among the oaks
and under every spreading tree;
you sacrifice your children in the ravines
and under the overhanging crags.

And
Isaiah 57:10
You were wearied by all your ways,
but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.'
You found renewal of your strength,
and so you did not faint.

What are some practical applications I can make in my life when I find myself moaning and groaning?, when anxiety fills my life?

Examine yourself and ask? Am I following my own agenda or asking for God’s agenda for my life?

Am I following through on what I know I need to do? Am I reading God’s Word, seeking answers through prayer and godly counsel? Am I following through on that guidance?

Most of the time trusting God is a process, we do well, and we struggle. Keep on because He is faithful. Life may not be a beach, but the heart of God towards you is love mightier than the deepest ocean. Think on the bigness of our God and trust.