“Basically, it sucks” was what she told me after I said I didn’t think I could relate. Yet our short exchange merely scratched the surface of the situation. Saying “It sucks” was putting things mildly. A very G-rated description of her situation. Saying “I don’t think I can relate” was a significant understatement on my part. I have no earthly way of knowing how to relate. Neither one of us knew exactly what to say and we certainly don’t know what to do going forward.

When you get hit by a blow that comes out of nowhere it takes your breath away. I just saw it happen on the soccer field last week. A player on my daughters team got the wind knocked out of her as she collided with an opponent. She never saw the blow coming. It was obvious she was in a ton of pain but I will say, at least she had a chance to lie down for awhile and catch her breath. Imagine if she tried to stand immediately after the collision and experienced a second blow on the way up. There’s a demented part of me that thinks it would look funny. There’s a grown up part of me that knows that collisions on the way up happen in real life and it’s pretty much never funny. A collision followed by a collision. A blow backed up with a blow.

I can’t relate to two blows coming out of nowhere so close together you can barely catch your breath. Bad news piled on bad news. Disappointment followed up by disappointment. Walls closing in. Pressure weighing down. The crush of worry and presence of fear. There are no good answers, nowhere to fix the problems and no idea what to do.

Quick story. In the Old Testament there is a story about King Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah and his reaction to the news of an approaching enemy army.  Wait, make that THREE enemy armies all closing in on him. After hearing about the “multitude” coming his way he is justifiably afraid. He proclaimed a national fast and prayed to the Lord for advice. In his prayers he both questioned God’s reputation and he claimed God’s promises and even still he had no idea what to do. He had no clue how to resist the blow coming his way.  Yet, in the midst of the uncertainty of what to do he knew exactly where to look. Listen to these words…

“…we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”   – 1 Chronicles 20:12

He knew that his army was powerless and he didn’t have a battle plan to feel good about yet he knew exactly where to focus his eyes. In the following verses a man comes forward. Filled with God’s Spirit he encourages the people by telling them the battle is not theirs but God’s. He assures them that on the next day when they go out to battle God would be with them.

The next day they got up early in the morning to gather for the battle in the wilderness. After taking counsel with his people King Jehoshaphat put the singers in front of the army (because that’s what singers do (!) – lead armies into battle – that’s a post for another day) and they started singing, “Give thanks to the Lord for his steadfast love endures forever”. As soon as they started singing the three armies that were closing in on them started routing one another! The opposing armies took each other down leaving King Jehoshaphat and Judah on the side of victory.

So, the walls are closing in you. Disappointment is followed up by disappointment. Just for a moment, think about the experiences of King Jehoshaphat and consider how he responds:

The armies are closing in and he is afraid. Of course he is! In his fear he doesn’t know what to do but he does know where to look. BECAUSE he knows where to look and WHO he is looking at he actually gets up for battle when he could have run, or hid, or sulked. He gets up to lead the army for whatever battle God has in store for them. Lastly, before the battle even begins the song on his mouth is a song that says… thank you.

He looks to God… He trusts God… He thanks God… and does all this as the opposing armies are closing in.

Are you able to look to God in the presence of fear?  Can you trust Him to be with You every step of the battle?  Are you able to give thanks to him even when the situation is closing in on you?

Don’t let yourself be beaten down by the blows you face but don’t feel bad either if you have no idea what to do going forward.  That is perfectly normal.  Just understand that knowing where to look when you don’t know what to do is a very good place to start.

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If you don’t have the strength to look up try this song out…