Fires, Lights, Barriers, and Superman. . . Encouragement for Difficult Days

     Have you ever had one of those days where you wished you had never gotten out of bed?  Those days come for everyone (like that is encouraging), but how we make it through those days is totally up to each of us.  John Maxwell tells us in his book, The Winning Attitude, that "our attitude determines our altitude."  You know he is right, but sometimes you want to ask guys like him, "Have you been through a day like mine?".  I can't really answer that question, but a guy named David helps us with our struggles.  

     David wasn't always king and things weren't always easy for him.  Sure we all know about his Goliath situation, but if you looked into David's life it would seem like a mess.  He was anointed to be king in his teen years, but had to wait for God to remove Saul.  In the mean time, Saul made David's life difficult to say the least.  He was the most wanted man in his home country, as well as in Philistine.  Because of this he had to leave family and friends behind and live a life of solitude for many years.  At one point, David was living in caves down by the Dead Sea.  And when he finally did have people come to live with him, they were also outcasts from their society and depended on him to take care of them.

     In the midst of these problems, pressures and difficult people situations, David stops and praises God with some amazing words.

"You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;

my God turns my darkness into light.

With your help I can advance against a troop;

with my God I can scale a wall." 

 (Psalm 18:28-29 NIV)

     Reading this got me to think about a couple of questions in my own life.  Often my perspective on day to day situations is skewed by sources outside of God's Word.  When I think about what David was saying here in these verses, it encourages me in the right direction. 

     So, let me share with you 4 questions to consider when life gets overwhelming.

"How I get through the difficult days really depends on the fuel for my life."

     What fuels your fire?  David stated that God kept his lamp burning or in other words God kept his fuel tank filled so that the light never went out even in the darkness.  This winter has had more cold days than we are used to here in central Florida which has given me the opportunity to light my fireplace.  Having gone through hurricane Irma this past September meant that there was plenty of wood available.  The problem for my fireplace was that not all of the wood was good fuel.  Some of it was still wet or green.  When those logs were placed on the fire, they would smoke and the sap would run out the ends, sometimes causing my fire to go out. 

     How I get through the difficult days really depends on the fuel for my fire.  David knew this was true and thanked God for keeping his lamp burning.  What has made a difference for me in dealing with problems, pressures, people, and other possible issues is a reliance on God's Word.  You see God's Word is a lamp for my feet and light on my path (Psalm 119:105).  My problems fade when my passions are fueled by confidence in God and I get this by spending time in His Word. So what is fueling your fire or has your fire (lamp) gone out?  Might be time to get back to God's Word.

"I can either sit and cry in the darkness or I can turn on the light."

     What brightens your darkness?  The second question is similar to the first, but changes from dealing with my driving passion or what's in me to my present position or what is around me.  When I let the darkness of life overcome me then it is hard to see what is going on all around me.  The struggle that David dealt with and defeated is a struggle that everyone seems to succumb to, focusing on myself and not seeing what is around me.

     The darkness creeps in to our lives and causes us to think about, well, us.  Today's culture has taught us to be victims of life.  David should have easily cried out that "life's not fair!" but instead he thanked God for turning on the light.  The reality for me is that I can sit and cry in the darkness or I can turn on the light.  Human nature tends to dwell on the darkness, but it was Jesus who told us to "let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  When I focus on others, it is like turning on a light in the darkness.  

"The barriers of your life are made to be broken."

     What gives you the ability to break through your barriers?  Barriers and barricades can keep us from moving forward with our life plans.  David, an experienced soldier, knew what it was like when the enemy blocked the path.  It was a nine and a half foot tall giant that stood before him in the valley of Elah that stood in the way of Israel's victory over the Philistines.  For Joshua, it was the Jordan River and the imposing shadow of Jericho that was blocking the Hebrews from their Promised Land life.  What David experienced in his life was that with God's help he could "advance against a troop."  

     Murphy's law always seems to be in full force in our lives.  Storms on the horizon overshadow the future.  The path of least resistance becomes a platitude rather than an option for our daily journey.  But in reality, what we never seem to understand is that the barriers of your life are made to be broken.  David knew he couldn't beat Goliath without God's help.  His words to Goliath spilled out an easy plan for overcoming his life barrier, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty ..." (1 Samuel 17:45).  Then David proceeded to tell this gargantuan that TODAY he would defeat him by cutting off his head with Goliath's very own sword.  David knew that he could break through the barriers of life with God's help.  So what barrier has you stopped in your tracks, and is keeping your from moving forward in life?  How are you going to break through?  

"What allows us to leap over tall obstacles in our lives as if we were from the planet Krypton?"

     What allows you to overcome your highest obstacles?  As I grew up learning about the characters of the Bible like David, I often thought of them as supernaturally endowed with abilities beyond mere mortals.  When you read of David fighting Goliath, Samson defeating outrageous numbers of Philistines, Moses parting the Red Sea, Jonah surviving for 3 days and nights inside the belly of a whale it often makes you feel like they were something extraordinarily special, almost superhero status.  Daniel making it unscathed through the night in a den of starving lions.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego walking out of a fiery furnace without a hair singed on their head.  

    The Psalmist lets us in on a secret that he really isn't "Superman," but he is able to leap tall obstacles in a single bound.  The highest obstacle in view is easily scaled with God.  What allows us to leap over tall obstacles in our lives as if we were from the planet Krypton?  The biggest walls in David's life were climbed with God holding the support ropes to carry him over the top because he placed his full trust in God.  Frequently, I survey huge mountains that loom menacingly discouraging me from what I should be attempting.  When I fail to trust God, I fail to do what I have been purposed to complete in life.  A lack of faith in my Creator is the kryptonite of my soul.  According to David, with God I can climb the highest wall better than Spiderman.  Faith in God gives me the ability to be the superhero God knows I can be.