Psalm 74 starts off with a prayer – Oh God, why have you cast us off forever?
Ever feel that way? It is s comfort that David, the man close to God’s heart, did. But that prayer got me to thinking.
Have you ever had a cast on your arm or your leg? Do you remember what it felt like when they took it off? Strange, right? It felt unnatural, so light. Your skin was probably a bit discolored. And there might have been a deep ache now that that bone was not so tightly supported. You might have needed physical therapy or exercises to re-strengthen your muscles and tendons.
When we are broken, God holds us close so we can heal. But there will come a time, in His wisdom, that He will let go so we can learn to use our spiritual muscles. That will feel strange and foreign. We may feel a deep ache. Did we make Him mad? Did we sin?
Perhaps not. He knows we need to grow on our own and take what He has provided back out into the world. He has not cast us off, just removed the cast. Time for us to flex our spiritual muscles and use it as part of the Body of Christ again. That doesn’t mean He won’t be right there everyday- it will just be in a different way. And, that is good. Like a daddy who lets go of the bike and hovers as his child wobbles down the sidewalk, our precious Father is right there to pick us up again in case we fall. And, being human, we will.
