What a Predicament!

Two hunters came across a bear so big that they dropped their rifles and ran for cover. One man climbed a tree while the other hid in a nearby cave. The bear was in no hurry to eat, so he just sat down between the tree and the cave to reflect upon his good fortune. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, the hunter in the cave came rushing out and almost ran into the waiting bear. He hesitated, and then dashed back in the cave again. The same thing happened a second time. When he emerged for the third time, his companion in the tree frantically called out, “Woody, are you crazy? Stay in the cave until he leaves!” “I can’t!” panted Woody. “There’s another bear in there!”

While we may never have been caught between two bears, we have all felt stuck at times. Whether it is a bad relationship, a job that is going nowhere, waiting for others to make decisions that directly affect our life, or whatever the predicament, being stuck can be one of the most difficult places we can find ourselves because we tend to feel lost and can lose our hope and happiness.

I have mentioned before that Psalm 121 is my favorite of all the psalms. I have actually been praying it a lot recently. The ending says, “The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Psalm 121:7-8). The Book of Psalms makes it clear that even David, a man after God’s own heart, experienced difficult times. What we need to remember is that David did something very important during these times of difficulty: he turned his focus to God. In the same way, when we feel stuck or when life is just hard, we need to turn our focus to the Lord because our Heavenly Father will watch over us now and forever.

God’s Best…Steven