The Unexpected Way Through

 

You are a hiding place for me,

You preserve me from trouble,

You surround me

    with shouts of deliverance.

I will instruct you and teach you

    in the way you should go,

I will counsel you

    with My eye upon you.

                 Psalm 32. 7-8

(And when we stand in trouble,

the rocky place, the miry bog,

          and dense fog

   -- which all of us face

      at one time or the next--

God's fundamental response

   of kindness and mercy

              meets us right there.

The hiding place is where

    we are strengthened by Him,

shielded even in the midst.

God reveals His way

    through this difficulty

    step by step,

    strength by strength.

His shouts of deliverance

   may not be the way out of,

but the way through,

calculated to bring us

             --and others--

   closer in knowing Him.

God has a strong hold on us.

He does not just "show up."

We are the ones

                late to the party

in realizing He is here all along,

His hand and steadfast love

  give us courage

            every step of the way.

"Trust Me in this."

Nothing random here.)

O LORD,

Please help us in our weakness.

Infuse us with Your strength.

Even in the hard stuff,

     You are with us.

We stand in the

        circle of Your Presence,

even here,

even in this.

Teach us Your way in this

and know that

Your purposes are unfolding.

And we cannot do this

            without You.