A Mouthful of Sand

“How long will I store up anxious concerns within me?” Psalm 13:2

This morning in my Bible study the author reminded me of a scene from Three Amigos. The three men are in the desert, thirsty and hot. They each take out their canteen in preparation for satisfying their thirst. One finds only 2 drops in his canteen while the other experiences total refreshment with a full canteen. The one in the middle raises his canteen to his mouth only to ingest a mouthful of sand. All three men were experiencing the desert in different ways.

I began considering the different seasons in our lives and what pours from our canteens. There have certainly been times when I had a full canteen and enjoyed the calm waters. There have been times when my canteen had enough to satisfy but my heart longed for more. Then there have certainly been times when my drink was a mouthful of sand. Those times when life was tough to swallow, and it seemed everyone around me had a full canteen. What do we do with those times when we must ingest and digest something that lacks satisfaction and contentment? What do we do when the canteen is full of loneliness… joblessness…anxieties…hopelessness?

We cry out to the Lord who is in control of all things and all circumstances. We trust that He is near when we feel He’s far away. We trust that He is love when we feel that He is uncaring. We thank Him for past blessings when we fail to see present blessings. We live like we’ve received His promises when we don’t see any signs of their fulfillment. We walk by faith and not by sight as Jesus did. We pour out our lives into others when our canteens are almost empty. We confidently accept that whatever is depleted God will replenish; whatever is stolen, God will replace; whatever is destroyed, God will rebuild; whatever is killed, God will resurrect. Our circumstances will not hold power over us, and we will be overcomers in Christ. We will bear our crosses as we wait on our crowns. When we focus on God instead of our situation, we will store up treasures in Heaven instead of storing up anxieties.

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life...And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life...your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:19-30.