My son is a sweet, loving, and extremely giving child.  He is also an independent and hard-headed little ball of energy.  He likes things done his way and on his time schedule.  When that doesn’t happen he, well-let’s just say, doesn’t put his best foot forward.  Recently I heard him stomping around and yelling in frustration so I went down the hall to check on him.  Somehow, while getting dressed he had gotten himself twisted up in his shirt and was as equally panicked as he was frustrated.  I began to try and help him and he responded, “STOP DADDY, I WANT TO DO IT MYSELF!”  I replied, “Ok, go ahead,” and I stood back while he wrestled further, fussing all the while.  My desire was to reach out and help him but he was set on doing it himself.  Finally he responded at an even greater level of frustration, “HELP ME DADDY!!!!”  I began to intervene and momentarily he attempted to continue doing things his way which, by the way, still wasn’t working.  Finally, in a quieter tone to calm him, I said, “If you will stand still I’ll fix it.”  He stood still, I fixed it, life went on.  But in the midst of my rescue I instantly had a déjà vu moment.  The only difference was, in my mind I was the one fussing and God was the one with the quiet voice attempting to calm me while I flipped and floundered around like a buffoon.

I’m sure everyone reading this can admit–been there, done that!  Something goes wrong and, rather than ask for help, we get ourselves in a tizzy attempting to do it all on our own making things worse as we go along.  I don’t see anything wrong with being independent.  I’m a firm believer in pulling yourself up by the boot straps and handling your business when necessary.  But there are certain situations we get ourselves into, when we’ve done everything you know to do, we stand helpless with nowhere to turn.  Those are the moments it becomes necessary to turn to the only person who can help us through our circumstance.  Am I implying it’s wise to do things we know are wrong because we know He will rescue us?  Absolutely not.  Sometimes we place ourselves in situations we know will lead us down roads we never intended to travel.  But He’s such a good Father, always there to provide a way of escape.  That doesn’t mean we won’t suffer the consequences of our actions but He still provides a back door.  Back to my main point—My assignment today is to remind you, when you’re in the middle of the storm He will be your shelter.  He’s a place of refuge.  Psalm 46:1 tells us, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Closing remarks and encouragement:  Be encouraged today.  Stop trying to control everything around you.  Stop spinning your wheels.  You can’t fix everything.  But you know Someone who can!  Call out to Him and then step back and watch Him move.