Our Deepest Need
“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.” (A Psalm of David) Psalm 27:10
There was a song sung by the Christian group “Newsong”, the subject of which was the time in a person’s life where he or she feels abandoned by all others and/or pursued by the enemy, Satan, and realizes that when God is all you have, you find that He’s all you need. David, God’s choice to lead Israel and to be a forefather of Christ, was a man “after God’s own heart”, yet he suffered abandonment, loss, depression, despair, and was pursued by King Saul, his father-in-law, and also by his own son, Absalom. Talk about a dysfunctional family!
How does one deal with trouble that comes from all sides? How does one deal with loneliness and the dread of facing each day? Sometimes the day is filled with just “going through the motions” of an ordinary day, then lying down at night hoping sleep will come quickly. But often it does not, and we lie awake and think about the things that transpired earlier that day and the things that we may face tomorrow, possibly another lonely or difficult day. However, it is circumstances like these where God can show Himself strong to the troubled heart.
When it comes right down to it, we can never fully depend on other humans in our darkest days. It’s not that they don’t want t help, it’s that they are not capable of comforting our deepest hurts. Sometimes those we depend on are taken from us through no fault of their own, and then we are left without their aid and comfort. Sometimes folks abandon us, some by choice and others by circumstances out of their control. While we love our family and friends, none of them can ever be our ultimate provider, protector, and comforter. Only the LORD can be the One who meets our deepest need, hears our cries of anguish, and comforts our hurting soul. It is possible, not desirable, but possible to survive without others, but it is impossible to survive with the LORD.
I went for my annual physical check up the other day and expressed to my doctor about some of the stress that I was undergoing due to several situations. When you are alone, the stress of day-to-day living can be difficult, but the additional stress brought on by unexpected problems or by the problems of others in which we sometimes get caught in the middle (been there, done that) can become overwhelming. That’s when we want some relief, some time out, or just to be able to quiet our minds even for just a little while. My doctor, a Chinese lady, gave me some very good advice that no doctor has ever said to me before, and frankly, I was surprised to hear it from a doctor, but she said to turn those stresses and worries over to God. She didn’t offer to prescribe pills, which I didn’t want anyway, but gave this simple, yet profound and sound advice. Giving the LORD your worries and concerns is the best medicine because He is the great Physician.