one phone call from our knees

Just listening to new Mat Kearney song and heard a line that resonated w/me...

"she got the call today, one out of the gray, and when the smoke cleared, it took her breath away, she said she didnt believe it could happen to me...I guess we're all one phone call from our knees..."

I've gotten those phone calls...too many, if you ask me.

But, its funny, I thought of something just this morning. I realized, when the phone call comes - and it does/will - God's made sure I'm never w/o support. He loves me, by putting people around me that I need...just then...even when I dont realize it.

I've been studying the life of David. God calls him the "man after God's own heart". Sounds like he'd be a rock star God-guy right? Well...uh...he screwed up more than most. He's a picture of a guy who loves God with his life and then dabbles in some crazy self-indulgences that God allows him to taste the 'fruit' of his mess...the man after God's own heart walks thru some ugly consequences...but God still loves him in the midst of it all. He's a just God, but He's a loving God who never stops loving...regardless of what we do.

Hmmm.

Something I found cool, was that when David was getting everything stolen from him (from his own son, of all people) bc of foolish mistakes he'd made and things he'd avoided dealing with, God STILL loved him and surrounded him by people who were "there" for David. They were there to soothe David's broken heart. They were there to support him.

He does that for me. So often, those phone calls come and many times they are consequences that ache and echo thru me. Other times, they are just things I cant explain away...even when I ask Him, I still dont understand "why". But, I realized today that I'm like David. He gives me love thru it all...sometimes its just hard to see bc I'm consumed by the "smoke" of that phone call.

And so today, I'm thankful for those He's put in my life to love me thru the gray times. They love me in spite of me...not conditionally.

I've heard people ask why the God of the Bible doesnt show Himself in these days. Well, I'm here to say, with full confidence that He does...daily. I just think we miss it...and I hope it doesnt take one of those phone calls for us all to realize it.

Comments

[Mallorie Bailey]

Thank you so much for your entry and to the others for their comments. I have found them encouraging today. May God bless your for your sincere heart and dedication to serving him.
Sincerely,
Mallorie Bailey

[Kris]

thanks for your comment Jenna...truly...such a reminder of how quickly life can change up on us. He calls us to be doing it ALL for His glory..."whether u eat, drink, or whatever u do". Thanks for serving youth...ya know, I came to know Christ at Young Life ski camp (we YLers laugh bc dont get many kids accepting Christ at ski camp...usually summer camp) when I was 15. Six months later my dad died. No coincidences...God had me in His hands from the get-go. Glad you left your msg...needed to be reminded of that today.

[Jenna McLucas]

Thanks for this post... I recently recived one of these phone calls when two of the students from our youth ministry were struck by a train. I'm new to the ministry, my husband and I accepted the youth director position just this past February. One of the students had just joined our leadership team, I was enjoying getting to know her well. I think of them every time I hear this song because truly my legs buckled when I got the news and all I could do in that moment was cry out to God. I still don't understand how this could be part of the plan, but I am learning more about faith now than I ever could have hoped to understand... Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). My hope is in Jesus and what He did for us. Because I know both students shared in that hope with me (they had both rededicated themselves to Christ just a few days before the accident) I am certain that I will see them again. I can't wait to embrace them and tell them how much I've missed them and how much their lives changed our community, our youth ministry, and my own private life. In the meantime, I have a feeling of assurance from God that He will continue to reach the students in our community through my husband and I... I can't think of a greater honor than that!

May the peace of God which trancends our understanding fill and bless your life today,
Jenna McLucas