I was out making a run to Jersey Mike’s when we were surprised by a sudden, and very brief, storm. Monica saw our grill cover getting blown away and made a successful dash to rescue it. However, upon returning up the deck steps she slipped and jammed her little toe against the boards. A week later she is still limping with what appears to be a broken toe. Those sudden turns in life can sure be a pain!
Late Tuesday night the Detroit Pistons made a sudden turn. They traded three future second round draft picks to move up in the current draft. With their sudden turn they were able to draft a guard whom they believe will help them get to the next level. Sometimes we don’t really know what a sudden turn will bring until much later.
Sometime earlier in the week there was a huge backup on eastbound I-94 just to the Port Huron side of Metro Parkway. I later heard that a collision between a semi and a box truck had the freeway closed for hours. My impression is that someone’s sudden turn effected not just those two vehicle operators, but also many hundreds (thousands?) of others trying to get home from work.
Yesterday morning my routine took a little turn (not really a sudden one because I knew of the change the night before) because of a sudden turn in our extended family’s life. My turn was to help with our granddaughters early in the morning instead of attending a Bible study – some turns are not so bad! On the other hand, the sudden turn that changed my day was our daughter-in-law’s father being sent back to the hospital with some post-surgery complications – some sudden turns are scary!
My “go to” place when a sudden turn comes my way is Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” (v.1) While I am sure the message here is intended to have us looking to our Lord God for help, what I hear the psalmist talking about is rolling my eyes back in exclamation or fear of “what’s next”?! But then there is the immediate promise – no matter what my initial reaction is to the sudden turn – “My help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”(v.2) And then the rest of the entire psalm is more of the same: “He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (vv. 3-8)
So today, no matter what kind of sudden turns come my way – or yours – we know we have a God who will be with us all the way – and who has promised to get us through it.
Sudden Turns
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