“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.” Psalm 107:13-16
I think we all have great days, when everything seems to be going smoothly, when our attitudes seem naturally positive and nothing seems to get under our skin. Like good rehearsal days in the studio that are fun and easy going. Those are definitely the best kind! I hope for you, those days outnumber the harder days. I just want to encourage you in the harder days. When your feet hurt, when you are disappointed that you did not get the role you were hoping for, when you do not feel great in your leotard, when you are just tired and lacking motivation, when burn-out is creeping in, or on another note moms, when your two year old is crying because he cannot communicate what he needs, when the laundry piles up, when you are sleep deprived, when you just feel hungry for peace. I want to encourage you because we all have great days and not so great days.
Those days that are harder for whatever reason, a little darker or stressful or gloomier, whether from what is going on at the studio or whether it is in your personal life…..Christ meets you there. Often that combination of what is going on in your personal life and the work due in the studio can lead to just a feeling of STRESS. And it can be heavy and for me, just makes me want to go take a walk with my Savior! In this psalm, we learn that Jesus delivers us out of darkness and out of distress. We can CRY OUT to Him in our troubles. He brings us OUT OF DARKNESS and the DEEPEST GLOOM and breaks away our chains. Those chains may be a bad attitude, a feeling of insecurity, it can be many, many things. What is it for you today?
In these verses, we are encouraged to GIVE THANKS to the Lord for His UNFAILING LOVE and His WONDERFUL DEEDS. On those harder days (I am saying this to myself just as much as to you!) start thanking Him, talking to Him, and telling Him what is on your heart. He breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron – I like to think of that as He can break down the moodiness, the hard attitude, the stressed feeling….no feeling or attitude is too strong for Him to deal with. So when you are having one of those more difficult days, for whatever reason, cry out to Jesus, soak in His Word, and let it soothe your heart. I promise you will feel Him and you will feel better.
I love the chorus of this song by Third Day:
“There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary, and love for the broken hearts,
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy, and healing that MEETS YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE.”
Prayer: “Dear Jesus, on those days that are harder, help me come to You. Check my heart and my attitude for you know me better than anyone. Help me come to You to bring me back to joy, and help me to look around and thank You for the blessings that are right in front of me but are foggy at the moment.”
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