This morning I woke up at about 5:00. It was dark in our bedroom. I put on the fleece jacket that was on the chair on my side of the bed and slipped out of the bedroom. Once in the kitchen, I began making coffee. I always enjoy the smell and taste of coffee early in the morning.
I opened my Bible to the book of Isaiah. Chapter 46. With a yellow marker in one hand, I began reading the chapter.
Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.
Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? . . . (Isaiah 46:3-5)
I sipped the coffee and thought about these words. After all, just days earlier I had told Charlotte that I felt overwhelmed. You know that feeling. You think about what you need to do, what should have been done yesterday, and feel tired just thinking about it. Then I read these words,
". . . I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
When I savor these words, when I let them soak in, I feel lighter. No, the work doesn’t go away. The problems don’t disappear. However, the heaviness and gloominess that I might be consumed by becomes less dominate. I am approaching a new day in which God has been at work long before I get to the office. He has already been working on issues that overwhelm me. My workload may feel overwhelming to me but that may be because I am focused on the work and not on him who sustains me.
Regardless of what the week appears to hold, I can still expect to experience joy. After all, experiencing joy is not dependent on having a perfect week. Rather, it is rooted in the source of all joy — God himself.
Is this reality useful for you today as you begin your week?
