The pressures we face in life often creep up on us gradually, imperceptibly. You just live with them, until one day you find yourself at breaking point.

I caught up recently with a man in his seventies, just finishing up a part-time job, wondering what God had for him next, in a bit of pain, facing knee replacement surgery, thinking about his finances, and the time he and his wife have left together on this earth. And as happy and positive a person that he is, I could see that with all this “stuff” swilling around in his head, he was under pressure. That’s how it is in life. I’m sure you relate.

The person who wrote this psalm was part of a community under pressure, where the good people were suffering at the hands of the wicked. So he prays to God:

Psalm 94:18-19 When I thought, “My foot is slipping,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.  NRSV

It’s not a nice feeling, when under the load you’re carrying it feels as though your foot’s slipping, as though the cares that plague your heart are set to overwhelm you.

Let’s be honest – God doesn’t always remove the cause of our distress. Instead, He comforts us – He upholds us through it all. So, that divine comfort isn’t the absence of trouble but the presence of God amidst it, turning anxiety to joy, collapse to stability. Hang in there. You’re not alone.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.