Have you ever had one of those weeks where you felt like you were…
Swimming upstream… like a salmon.
Slogging through a mud-up-to-your-waist swamp wearing cement
boots… or
Sliding helplessly down the swirling drain… as burdens
overwhelm and are about to pull you under.
Sounds pretty bleak, doesn’t it? But that’s what happens. Whether we allow it or, more than likely, do it to ourselves,
we end up as fish…
in the mud…
going down the drain.
But that’s not as it should be. At least, that’s what everyone says—from McDonalds, “You deserve a break today,” and L’Oreal, “I’m worth it,” to finally, and most importantly, our loving Heavenly Father.
Shocked? Our loving Heavenly Father God does say that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. And He says it, over and over again.
Listen to these words. Jesus is speaking.
“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29 NLT)
And out of Psalms~
“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” (Psalm 40:2 NLT)
Often, we don’t see His love, His longing to set us above the fray. And so we bumble along, swimming upstream, slugging through mud, sliding uncontrollably down the drain…until we look up.
Charlie Peacock says it best in his song, “Cheer Up Church.”
Chorus
Cheer up church. You’re worse off than you think.
Cheer up church. You’re standing at the brink,
Don’t despair.
Do not fear.
Grace is near.
