“The eyes of all look to You; and You give them their food in due
time. You Open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living
thing.” Psalm 145: 15-16.
Brother Gearl gave us the cure for the “I’m Just Gettin’ By” blues
Sunday in his message from Psalm 145. It is easy in these perilous
times to bemoan our financial and emotional circumstances. It is easy
to lose hope in our political leaders to resolve the spiraling
unemployment and national debt woes. It is easy to give in to status
quo living and sing the “I’m Just Gettin’ By” blues.
But Jesus never intended for us to live that way. “In the midst of our
difficulties, heartache and pain Jesus meets us at the point of our
need,” Brother Gearl said. “We don’t have to allow our hardships to
push us into a status quo lifestyle.” Isaiah 58:11 encourages us that,
“The Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in
scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like
a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not
fail.”
“We all have scorched places,” Brother Gearl reminded us. “Our mindset
when we’re burned is, ‘I don’t want to go through this.’ ” But we
often fail to realize that those scorched places may be right where
God wants us so we can find amazement in His work in our lives. How
many times have we gone through a scorched place to look back and
marvel at the blessings God provided and the amazing things He did as
we were tiptoeing through those burning coals and ashes.
One of several cures for the I’m Just Gettin’ By blues Brother Gearl
taught us was to recognize His greatness. “As we encounter His
greatness we begin to experience His power,” he said. Think about
Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly
beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works
within us” Or meditate on 1 Corinthians 2:9 “No eye has seen, no ear
has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who
live him.”
In the midst of your next trial stop. Think about those verses. Think
about all the great things He has done in your life. Think about His
greatness, surrender your trial to Him. Then wait to witness His power
at work in your life.
When we recognize His power Brother Gearl told us it becomes a way of
life. Think of all the times God has arrived in the midst of your
situation and given you wisdom or influenced circumstances or people
to bless you. He may not have extracted you from the pain or grief or
burning ashes, but He did make His presence known and provided you
with the means for getting you through the flames and into His
presence.
When we look back at those times we see clearly God’s greatness and
His wisdom to work all things for our good. That should always amaze
us. That’s why praising God in the midst of our difficulties and pain
is so important. If we can remember that God’s greatness is always at
work for our good, then we can praise Him in all circumstances, even
those that seem hopeless or painful. He will continually guide you, as
Isaiah says, and satisfy your desires in scorched places.
Learn to recognize God’s greatness in any and all circumstances and
God will transform your “I’m just gettin’ by” mindset into a lifestyle
of praise and gratitude that you’ll want to share with the world.