RETURN TO NORMAL

Sometimes it is amazing how quickly life returns to normal. Granted someone has said that “normal” is only a setting on a dryer, but the routine of life finds its way of overcoming even the most difficult of circumstances. For instance think about the hundreds of thousands of people who were forced to leave their homes due to the California wildfires. As the fires continue to burn many are now being permitted to return to their homes. Even for those whose homes have been destroyed, it won’t take long before they rebuild and their everyday schedule returns to “normal.”

Each of us has faced our own unique situations that more than toppled our proverbial apple cart. The death of a loved one, a prolonged illness, the loss of a job, an accident or burglary, a natural disaster: these are but a handful of events that can strike suddenly in any of our lives. And while the routine of life may return to normal, our hearts can carry the pain of loss for months and even years.

The psalmist knew what it was to sing the blues. “As the deer pants for steams of water so my soul pants for you, O God . . . My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42: 1, 3 NIV). Have you been there, feeling forsaken even by God?

Grief lingers. Depression can overwhelm us and transform a “normal” day into the deepest of sorrow. While the intensity may vary, we all know what it is like to be lost in regret. What are we to do when “abnormal” emotional pain becomes “normal?”

• Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
  Psalms 42:5 NIV

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and live a new “normal” of sorrow. The palmist pushes past singing the blues to purposefully sing God’s praise. We can choose to linger in the mire of self pity or we can look up. Put your hope in God! Come to Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and let Him mend your broken heart. He will bring you into green pastures and lead you along quiet waters. Jesus will restore your soul. He will walk with you even through the dark shadows of Death Valley. Out of His abundant storehouse our Shepherd will provide for us.

All who hope in God will never be hopeless. What do you think?