Ben and I are all for a good adventure. We had a fantastic vacation in Durango these past few weeks and enjoyed some great hikes in the mountains. Unfortunately, things heated up on the way home. Just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, the air conditioner in our truck decided to take a break. The problem was this air conditioner’s break lasted the rest of the trip. It was totally broken.
In a land where there are no water streams and desert-like conditions, even the cacti struggle to survive. And there we were, right in the middle of all it. We opened each window and off we went toward Lubbock, where we would stay. Ben rigged up our small cooling humidifier that produced a bit of a breeze for our doggie in the back seat. We called the emergency vet to make sure we were doing all we could to take care of her. The miles seemed to tick by slowly as the sweat mounted.
Seems like many of us took vacations years ago with not a bit of air conditioning, right? How did we do it? Well, I wasn't in Texas! There certainly wasn’t much talking in the truck as we couldn’t hear each other! So I decided to turn on our Saturday church service and see if I could hear it.
About the only thing I heard in the service was Pastor Ed Newton talking about the Famous Double-Double at In-and-Out Burger and the Bible verse printed on the wrapper. He was speaking in the book of Nahum and the verse on the wrapper was in Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” Pastor Ed gave a target statement that really hit me: “How you think God views you, will define the way you view yourself and the situations that you face.”
How did I view God in times like these? This situation was a minor irritation, but still, not what we planned for. Did I really trust that God would take care of us throughout this trip? Even though I struggled with stress, I knew that God would ultimately care for us.
We often struggle in our challenging circumstances because we don’t believe who God says He is. We don’t read the Bible and seek to know Him. As a result, when we’re up against our own personal struggle, we find ourselves relying on ourselves, not God. We find ourselves questioning God, not trusting Him.
Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” I have a feeling that many fail to taste and see that the LORD really IS good. By the time you get on in life, there are a ton of things most of us have gone through, some great things and some not so great. Here’s the honest-to-goodness truth…. No matter what bad thing happens, God is still good. God is still God. And He will see you through.
Seems like many of us took vacations years ago with not a bit of air conditioning, right? How did we do it? Well, I wasn't in Texas! There certainly wasn’t much talking in the truck as we couldn’t hear each other! So I decided to turn on our Saturday church service and see if I could hear it.
About the only thing I heard in the service was Pastor Ed Newton talking about the Famous Double-Double at In-and-Out Burger and the Bible verse printed on the wrapper. He was speaking in the book of Nahum and the verse on the wrapper was in Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” Pastor Ed gave a target statement that really hit me: “How you think God views you, will define the way you view yourself and the situations that you face.”
How did I view God in times like these? This situation was a minor irritation, but still, not what we planned for. Did I really trust that God would take care of us throughout this trip? Even though I struggled with stress, I knew that God would ultimately care for us.
We often struggle in our challenging circumstances because we don’t believe who God says He is. We don’t read the Bible and seek to know Him. As a result, when we’re up against our own personal struggle, we find ourselves relying on ourselves, not God. We find ourselves questioning God, not trusting Him.
Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” I have a feeling that many fail to taste and see that the LORD really IS good. By the time you get on in life, there are a ton of things most of us have gone through, some great things and some not so great. Here’s the honest-to-goodness truth…. No matter what bad thing happens, God is still good. God is still God. And He will see you through.
One last thing…. I did catch one of the worship songs on that Saturday night service with our windows-open-hot-truck drive to Lubbock. It was this song. It helped me shed a few tears and give me a different perspective: https://www.
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
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