A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Handford
I
f you are a mathematician you already know what a mobius strip is. Since I’m not a mathematician, and have no hope of becoming one, the idea of a mobius strip facinates me. Take a strip of paper, hold one end of it, rotate the opposite end. Then fasten the two ends. You’ve created a surface that never ends. You could make a recording on a mobius tape, and you’d never have to re-wind it to replay it. It would magically begin again the moment it got to the spliced place. The tape would have only one never-ending side. Don’t ask me how it works; it just does!
Once in a while—you’ve been there and know exactly what I mean—things in life seem to fall apart. I felt that way this week. I faced so many problems, so suddenly. I shouldn’t have been surprised: many of them are related to the fact that I have suddenly and inexplicably grown old! I desperately needed reassurance from my Heavenly Father that He is still in total control, that I could count on His unchanging love and mercy. So I made a mobius strip in my mind of Psalm 138:8. Maybe you will be comforted by it as I have been.
The LORD will work out His plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for You made me.
My faithful God, who has provided for me every day of my life, is still working out His plans for me, just as He has proved Himself faithful to me in the past. “The Lord will work out His plans for my life.” I don’t need to be afraid He doesn’t love me; I don’t need to fear He’ll quit loving me, Why? Because “Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.” What an indescribable comfort those words are!
But then fear creeps in. What if He gets tired of me? What if He gives up on me? What if I irritate Him too much? My heart cries out, “Don’t abandon me, for You made me!” I couldn’t blame Him if He did, seeing how wishy-washy I am. But that’s where the magic of the mobius strip recording kicks in! The recording doesn’t end on that cry of panic, thank God. The very next word I hear is, “The Lord will work out His plans for my life. Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever!”
It’s an unending circle of assurance and absolute rest. God loves me. He has an incredible plan for my good. And when I am afraid He might forget me just for a moment, He reminds me again that He has always been faithful and He always will be faithful..
What are the burdens you carry today? A financial crisis not of your making, and bills piling up you see no way to pay? A beloved child struggling in school or being tempted to do wrong? A difficult relationship that seems to have no solution? A frightening medical diagnosis? A dread about the terrible conflicts in our country, and the ever-present fear about nuclear war? Listen to the mobius strip tape of Psalm 138 and be comforted.
The LORD will work out His plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for You made me.
The LORD will work out His plans for my life!