Have you ever had one of those weeks? My emotions have been on a roller coaster ride. There never seems to be one day that’s had enough hours in it. There is, as the apostle Paul would call it, the burden of the church. There are the ongoing physical needs of so many right now of our loved ones and friends. Folks who have been not only getting discouraging news but fighting the medical and emotional battle demanded of each of them. One of them is my dear friend. For every step forward he makes, he ends up sliding at least one and half backward. The only place he’s known for the last three weeks has been either the inside of the same intensive care room or the inside of an operating room. Beyond all this there is the need to stay focused on ministry in general and a variety of important matters in particular. I just got off the phone trying to encourage and remind one of my dear friends of King David’s statement, “I have put the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I will not be moved.” Great words! Encouraging words! Eternal words! But… In this life of ours, there always seems to be a “but.” If you’re a child of God, David’s words neither confuse nor offend you. In fact, they are reassuring. The “but” part is living up to or along with their admonition. In quiet places devoid of noise and distraction, it’s relatively easy to absorb the encouragement of the king’s words. The hard part is implementing these words in real life situations. I guess that marks the difference between mature and immature conduct for a believer. Believing that the words come from God is not the issue. The issue is trusting the God who is behind the words to, shall we say, deliver. But then faith wouldn’t be faith; trust wouldn’t be trust if we didn’t exercise our confidence in those words, would it? As I re-read these words, I guess I’m writing to myself. Sometimes it helps just to sit down and write out what’s on your heart. This time, I’ve allowed you to look over my shoulder. I’d rather you be in that position because then you won’t see the occasional tear. No, that’s not said for self pity, it’s said in humility. I’ve run the course of my strength. I’ve dipped into the well of my experience. I’ve tested the trails in my memory. And, I’ve come up empty. It was right at that point the Lord said, “Put me before you, let me be your right hand, I’ll get you through.” Funny, Paul said something about that, “when I am weak, then I am strong…that the power of Christ might dwell in me.”