The Lord is my sunshine…

Does this photograph cause feelings of excitement and euphoria? 

Probably not. I know it doesn’t for me.

You may be thinking How can something like that elicit anything? This was my view as I sat outside the restaurant on a dreary Friday morning, waiting for the rain to let up. That’s how the world looks to some, even on a good day.

My website has a general medical disclaimer that I’d like to highlight. I’m not a doctor. I’ve never been employed in the medical field at all, so I don’t pretend to offer medical advice and pray you don’t take anything I write as such.

I am an imperfect vessel. I have good days and bad. When asked how I describe my temperament, I sometimes choose melancholic, or better yet, pensive as melancholic seems too strong. But, somewhere along that continuum. Life to me is not an adventure to conquer. I can easily spend the day hoping things don’t get worse.

Though I didn’t have it in mind the day I took the photo, this week’s image is a decent representation of how I feel some days. Some days, my temperament, adversely fueled by whatever I’m having to deal with, is not letting the sun shine in my life.

That “something”, whether health, finances, relationships, or disdainful chore—doesn’t matter, that “something”, is doing its dead level best to obscure the life God wants for me. That life is out there. I know it is. I try to look past the difficulty, but it’s in my face, too close to ignore. At times, I can barely see past—just a bit, just enough to know it’s preventing abundance.

On top of that, the abundance God wants for me feels out of reach. The fellowship, the joy, the satisfaction… I want to experience it all. I want to live that life as clearly as I’m living the “something” that’s in the way. I just can’t. I know it’s out there being enjoyed by others, but not by me.

You may find yourself in this situation. You and I may sit next to each other at church functions. We may attend sporting events a couple rows apart. You may be a close friend, acquaintance, or even family. We live in a fallen world where Satan is constantly putting on a full court press, his arms waving high and low, doing his best to keep us from God’s best.

But, we have hope when our temperament or circumstances get in the way of God’s best. Look at what Jesus promised His disciples.

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NASB)

That’s right. That “something” may not go away. It may be “who we are”. I reviewed my personality type recently for another project. It hit the nail on the head for who I am. Check out some excerpts: “keen sense of right and wrong”, “noted for devotion to duty”, “effusive expression of emotional warmth is not something they do without considerable energy loss”, “’we’ve always done it this way’ is often reason enough”. Hoo-boy! For those who know me and have always wondered why I was such a bundle of fun—there you go J.

That “something” may be there when we wake tomorrow, but it doesn’t have to control us. God, the very creator of all that is, has overcome anything that wants to get between us and Him.

As David spoke to the Lord in the first three verses of Psalm 18 (NASB):

“I love You, O LORD, my strength.” The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

What metaphor would you use for God?