Monday 6 October 2014

How low can you go? {His arms are there}

My mind has been very drawn, of late, to friends who are in a low place.

Such sadness.

Such heartache.

So many trials and struggles.

Last week, for me, was not my best.  Physically speaking, I felt low. I had one illness on top of another, and I had no strength at all.

Mothers, VERY often, can feel low.

Physically, it's a wearying job.  We go from one job to another, often not even finishing the first before the next beckons.  A long list of the unfinished in past moments, whilst we tend to the never-ending of the present.  Laundry.  Cooking.  Parenting.  It's hard, but ultimately worth it.

Emotionally.  We are tending the needs of the needy.  Children who "need us", and we can't always "fix".  Struggles, disputes, heartaches, rebelliousness, illnesses, general "neediness".

"Mum, I NEED you".

As wives, we can face trials and struggles, too - challenges we may never have envisaged facing when we said "for better, for worse".  When we pictured it always being the "better".

Spiritually.  We are giving out, simply by being a mother.  It's an spiritually draining thing, as we seek to give encouragement, teaching and blessing to our family around us.  We battle to find the time to fit in the spiritual nourishing we need for ourselves.  Yes, battle.  It's a fight.  Never as much so as it is in our marriages. Battling Satan on a daily basis as He seeks to drag our marriages down, and hear us shout out "I've had enough!".

There are  certainly times when everything just piles on top and we feel  low.  We can feel so low that we are hitting rock bottom.

There's the punch.

The all-encompassing truth we need to cling to.

When we belong to the Lord - when we are child of the King - what "rock" is at that "bottom"?


"He is my rock"
Psalm 92:15


We also read


"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:"
Deuteronomy 33:27

He is above us, pulling us up out of that low place, yet His arms are underneath us, gently catching us.

When we drop with exhaustion.

When we stumble and fall in our walk.

When we sink down low in our hearts and minds.

We hit that Rock, that is the solid ground, stopping us from sinking.

He is that gentle pair of arms, cradling like a mother cradles her infant child, safe, secure, loved, and underneath us.  The arms of love.

I don't know about you, but that thought cheers my heart no end.

No matter the trials and struggles that I am facing, which pull me down, the Rock is firmly underneath me, and I am IN HIS ARMS.

You know those moments when you pick up your crying, distressed, or weary child, and you feel them just relax into your arms, because they feel safe and secure?

We can do that too.  No matter what our circumstances, we can let go, let out that deep breath of resignation and peace, and rest securely in His arms.

Sometimes, we NEED to hit rock bottom, to truly feel the Rock under our feet.  To know He's there, keeping us up, and being that sure foundation.

But, no matter how low we can go, His arms are underneath.  The Rock is under our feet.









My Joy-Filled Life


1 comment :

  1. There is also that lovely verse from psalm 61, .....when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

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