One of Those Days

Today has been one of those days from the start.  After a couple of snoozes on my bedside alarm clock, I got up to turn off my phone alarm over on the dresser (does anyone else have to put their alarm across the room?).  Standing at the foot of the bed, I considered my options.  My hair was too dirty to go one more day without washing; that would have been another 30 minutes of sleep.  I could skip my morning workout, but I had skipped yesterday.  I literally prayed for God to help me just stay out of bed.  And so it went…

I was late to work.  My eyes were super uncomfortable and not responding to the prescription eyedrops as quickly as the eye doctor anticipated.  Sinus pressure from a cold was making it painful to bend over.    As the day wore on, my chronic shoulder pain was an issue.  Now it’s evening and I’m at home with an ice pack on my eyes instead of being at Bible study with my girlfriends.  In other words, nursing my wounds and feeling discouraged.  Often I blog hoping to encourage others; today I write hoping to encourage myself.

While perusing for a Bible passage to inspire me, I came across Psalm 42.  According to the notes in my study Bible, the writer of this Psalm is a temple musician who had been exiled to a place far from Jerusalem and, as a result, could no longer worship in the temple.  In verses 5 and 6 the author asks:

⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

⁶ My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

Apparently, this psalmist was smarter than me.  He knows the solution to a downcast soul and it’s not rest or ibuprofen.  Praise God!  Remember what He has done for me!  Surely not as easy as it sounds but I suppose it’s worth a try, right?

Heavenly Father,

I praise you not for what you have done for me (although it is much), but simply for who you are.  I’m thankful that you are in control and I don’t have to be.  I remember the many times you have walked with me through good and bad days and your forgiveness for the times you were there but I failed to turn to you.  I remember that you allowed your Son to suffer and be crucified for my sin so that it would no longer separate me from you.  I’m thankful for even the little things you provide, like a bed to sleep in, a job to go to, and the dog who greeted me after work with a wagging tail.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Cindy is a blog contributor and board member at Study With Friends Ministries.  For more about how God is our help even during difficult times, you may enjoy our Refining Fire series. You can also listen to our Bible studies by tuning in to your favorite radio station, listening to our podcast on iTunes, or listening through TuneIn or Stitcher online radio.