When God Sits At Your Kitchen Table

Here’s the Deal

One Saturday afternoon, Wes and I sat the kitchen table. Talking about how tired we were, we both felt we could use a bit of hope. We felt a bit disheartened by the events of the week, and if I’m honest, the past several years.

You see, God had put us in what feels like a holding pattern. He had us in a “Trust Me, even when you can’t see where I am taking you” place. If you have never been in a place like that, let me just tell you, it is uncomfortable, painful, frustrating, lonely, and so much more. But we have been serving God long enough to recognize these times as when God wants to work on our character. So, we just keep on waiting.

We talked about how many things had broken down in the recent weeks. The mower, our house, our cars, our bodies – you name it, it probably needed to be repaired. We also had some major expenses due. We just had needs.

Sometimes You Just Have to Encourage Yourself

Sitting there at the table of woe, we tried to encourage ourselves. Wes is a master of being unflappable. He truly is a constant source of strength and calm.

He said “I don’t want to manufacture a moment of panic, because I know that God is in control of all of this.”

I replied that “I don’t need you to panic, I panic enough for the both of us! One of us needs to stay level headed in this process.”

We discussed how God has sustained us. Though we are low, we haven’t crashed and burned yet! God was using our suffering to change and prepare us for what was to come in our lives. We knew a greater purpose was at work in both of us. There’s nothing like a flurry of fiery trials to reveal your areas of weakness. Even though we didn’t like it and we would much rather have an easier path, we were being refined. In all transparency, Wes is way more confident than I am in this process of becoming. I try to just let go and trust, but the control freak inside of me is always trying to help God fix it. I know… so dumb! In the end, we decided to just keep trusting God. To wait, and let His plan unfold. And do what we can to put Him first.

Anyway, Fast-forward to Sunday

I woke up with such a heaviness. I felt like I couldn’t take another step or another breath. But we got ready and headed to church. After all, what else do you do on a Sunday morning!

On the way there, God brought Psalm 34 to my attention. It was the beginning of a Hope-filled day!

As we entered worship service, I was determined to praise God even though it feels like we were going through a fire. Besides He’s already done so much for me, I cannot help but to praise Him!

But this morning God breathed fresh life into me. I wept tears of thanksgiving as we sang “Where the Spirit of the Lord is …there is freedom, and liberty” and “Great is your faithfulness.”

God has truly been so faithful to me. I don’t doubt that He sees me and cares for me. Sometimes it just gets a little hard to see past all the stuff. A friend came over and prayed with me. She spoke powerful words of encouragement to me, bringing life to my heart once again.

Then, it Happened…God Spoke to Us

After the song service, pastor Josh Wise, of the Hope Center in Pass Christian, got up and preached the message “What Things Must We Suffer.” Wes and I just kept looking at each other in amazement as he preached. After the service, another friend came up us and said that God told him to remind us that God has seen every tear we have cried and that He has not forgotten us.

Wes and I just looked at each other and thought, “Wow! It was like God was sitting with us at our kitchen table!”

¹⁷ The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
¹⁹ The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.

Ps 34:17-19 (NLT)

So, If you are suffering today, or if you feel all alone…let me just tell you…you are loved. You are not alone. God sees you, and He hears your every sigh!