White-hot Jangling

Nerves jangle today,

endings rubbed raw

by the gritty friction

of stress jostling stress.

I’m paying the price

in white-hot sensitivity,

emotions on the edge

ready to fall if pushed

too far.  The abyss

stretches before me.

I step back and take stock.

I’m crushed, Lord Jesus!

How not to despair?

I crawl before you,

weighed way down,

and beg you earnestly:

please lift this load,

at least enough

for me to rest

and find new strength.

Reach into my heart,

bathe me in peace!

Guard each access

to my swirling thoughts.

Keep out the searing darts

that scorch my hope!

Then by your Spirit

glue my eyes on you

so that I always know

the truth: you are here.

I choose to wait on you,

expecting only good things

from your gracious hand,

the outflow of your heart

that carried all my griefs

and stumblings long ago

and lifts them to yourself

today as well. I’m blind

to what is coming,

but you already know

your purpose in this heat:

how you are shaping me

into the useful pot

you planned so long ago

when you formed me

in my mother’s womb.

Your fingers press gently

on my malleable form.

I am loved. I release

my fears and let you work.

I don’t know all you might be dealing with these days. But it’s true: there is chaos all around! Just listening to the news brings home that reality. And then there are personal testings, like conflicts or illness or economic fragility or the challenges of aging. The list can go on and on. But changing the vantage point brings peace that has nothing to do with all of that. It is called living by faith in the King who is our Father, Rescuer and Protector. Yes, living in this world includes suffering. To release our fears we need to remember crucial truths.

There have been many eras of political chaos, when the psalmist urged God’s people to remember who is ultimately in charge:

The LORD is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth. ² Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. ³ How long, LORD, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant? ⁴ They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. ⁵ They crush your people, LORD; they oppress your inheritance. ⁶ They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless. ⁷ They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.” ⁸ Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? ⁹ Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? ¹⁰ Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge? ¹¹ The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile. ¹² Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, the one you teach from your law; ¹³ you grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. ¹⁴ For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. ¹⁵ Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.  (Ps. 94:1-15 NIV)

Our Father God uses suffering to shape our character, giving us strength to endure through his love and the gift of his Spirit, and assuring us that a wonderful glory is ahead. We have joy in that assurance:

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory. ³ Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance, character, and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  (Rom. 5:1-5 NET)

In his timing he will make all perfect in the new world he is preparing:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. ² And I saw the holy city– the new Jerusalem– descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more– or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.” ⁵ And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then he said to me, “Write it down, because these words are reliable and true.” ⁶ He also said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water free of charge from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Rev. 21:1-8 NET)

With our heart’s eyes fixed on him, we have this enduring hope: a future forever with him, with no tears or distress. Meanwhile, we can shake loose the weight of worry:

⁶ And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand ⁷ by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. ⁸ Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering. ¹⁰ And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹ To him belongs the power forever. Amen. (1 Pet. 5:6-11 NET)

The key to finding joy in the midst of “white-hot jangling” in this world is faith, trusting in the Sovereign Yahweh who has prepared a way for us through this chaos to our everlasting reward: forever with him. Meanwhile we resist the enemy and rejoice in the safe place where we stand, obeying his urging to cast our cares on him and live a life that follows his right commands. This is the God of all grace, he called us to live forever because of Christ Jesus, and he “will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish” us ((1 Pet. 5:10 NET).