shock-absorber
“If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.”
PROVERBS 24:10
Life is full of surprises, isn’t it? While there are moments of great joy, there are also moments of sadness and adversity; they do not announce before visiting us, like the current pandemic and its effects. This season, some have lost their loved ones, some their jobs, some their business, while others are struggling to make their ends meet. Until few months back everything looked rosy and promising, but suddenly the black cloud has darkened the sky above us, life appears uncertain and bleak far and wide.
Sudden adversity shocks us and oftentimes we are caught off-guard like the disciples in a wavy boat. But God wants His children to stay prepared–always, to handle the “sudden-lies” of life; but to handle the shocks, we need a good shock-absorber.
If you wish to buy a car, the salesman in showroom will never promise you a good road. The shock-absorber remains the most non-negotiable of all the factors. The interiors, the outward beauty is of least importance. No one risks life buying a car without a shock-absorber–though you will not fine one. And when you go through a rugged road, its this shock-absorber that will soak-in all the jerks to make your journey comfortable. It doesn’t eliminate the bad roads, but it does assure safety. A car without a shock-absorber may cost you, so will a life without shock-absorber will cost you.
There’s a song that says, “God hasn’t promised, skies always blue; flower strewn pathways, all our lives through…” Perhaps this true of your life right now. Our journey is not going to be smooth always. If we have a bad shock-absorber, our afflictions will throw us into mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders and all kind of disorders. The scripture says, “If you faint, succumb, falter, in the day of your crisis, then you are a man of little strength.” The day of adversity will test our shock-absorber, and it will thoroughly expose us.
It is reported, about 800,000 people commit suicide worldwide every year, of these 135,000 (17%) are residents of India, a nation with 17.5% of the world population. Between 1987 and 2007, the suicide rate increased from 7.9 to 10.3 per 100,000. (Source: Wiki). What’s alarming is the increasing figures of suicidal rates globally. As per a recent article published by Indiatoday (WHO), India is the most depressed country in the world.
The world is in shambles and is not going to change; our circumstances may or may not change, but if we want to rise above the dark clouds and live, then there is a need for us to change. The Psalmist says:
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but ‘God is the strength of my heart’ and my portion forever.” –Psm 73:26
Our shock-absorber is our heart and God is the strength of our heart. It takes a strong heart to persevere adversities, and it is God who strengthens our heart to be strong, to be still, in the midst of all our calamities. Bible calls us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. While our journey ahead is going to be rugged at times, but God promises empowerment to all His children, who takes shelter under the shadow of His wings.
“…He would grant you…to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man–heart..” —Eph 3:16
We need strength to conquer our adversity, to arise amidst all odds to live as victors, but we must realize, God is the strength of our heart. We need Him more today than ever before.
Amen!
Vinod Rasaiy
