Walking Us Through Our Troubles

Psalm 18:6 – In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. (KJV)

Anyone with a computer, especially a beginner, knows the importance and value of their server and support staff. I'm not what one would call computer-literate, and although I can figure out some things on my own, it is easier when guided by someone else.

My server lives in a different community and we have never met face to face. In the beginning, I relied on their support staff quite a bit, either through e-mail or by phone, and though now many months go by without my needing assistance, there are still some times when I must call upon them to walk me through my troubles.

So it was a while back. My e-mail access had been fine in the morning, but in the evening, nothing I tried would make the connection. Even the For Dummies book instructions didn't help, so I called up my server's support system. It takes a special skill to be on one end of the phone, listen to what the caller describes as the problem, translate that into what the listener thinks is being said and, without the troubled computer in front of them, try to fix the problem for the caller. It requires a tremendous amount of trust and patience.

That particular evening was at the end of what had probably been a long day of answering technical problems in layman's terms, and yet the young man, though tired, was very patient and helpful. After three tries at what might have caused the problem, he finally discovered that my computer was configured to their old system, which had expired that day, and walked me through the process to change it.

When we are in spiritual, emotional or physical upheaval, Christ, the support system to our server, God, is always willing to listen and walk us through our troubles.

Oh, He may not fix our problems as we would wish to have them fixed. A terminal illness isn't likely to be cured. A quadriplegic won't get up and walk, and a deceased loved one won't be returned. That is not what He has said He would do, and it may take several tries on our part to hear His words as he guides us, or walks us through our troubles. When we listen, we find it is He who gives us the courage to trust ourselves to go on; the higher elevation of our awareness, of our acceptance of what is; the strength and ability to deal with whatever it is that life has given us; and the peace that passes all understanding.

Prayer: O Holy Father, we thank you for the support systems of all the servers in our lives: our loved ones, our families, friends, teachers, ministers, spiritual directors. We thank you for the caring front-line workers we encounter on a daily basis, and we give thanks for You who walks with us, our ultimate source of support. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

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