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In Psalm 146, the Psalmist offers a gentle but important reminder: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.” Human leaders, no matter how wise or capable, are still human. “When their breath departs, they return to the earth,” the Psalm says. Instead, our hope is meant to rest in something far more lasting—God, who is eternal.

There is a prayer I sometimes say that ends with the words, “…but You alone, the Eternal, remain, and You are enough.” The truth is that God really is enough. But if we are honest, it is human nature to forget that. We tend to put our hope in people. A leader. A newscaster. A preacher. Maybe even someone we love deeply. We look to them to fix things, guide us, and make life feel a little more manageable. But no human being can carry that weight alone. I remember telling a couple once during premarital counseling, “Your spouse will not fill all of your needs. You will still need friends, family,  church, community, and time alone.” No one person can be everything for us.

Still, when life becomes overwhelming—when a problem is painful or urgent—our perspective can shrink. Our whole world narrows down to the one thing that hurts or the one situation we cannot seem to fix. That happened to me this past week when one of my migraines showed up. Unfortunately, migraines seem to run in my family, and they have become a more regular visitor as I have gotten older. I had been in a church meeting and made it home, but before long a wave of nausea overtook me and I doubled over in pain. I ended up on the bathroom floor in the fetal position, and in that moment my entire world became the throbbing pain in my head and a small pill I knew was waiting for me in a bottle in the farthest drawer upstairs.

Now my bathroom is not very large downstairs, but in that moment the idea of standing up and making my way to that drawer felt like a monumental task. For a while, my whole world was about the size of my bathroom floor. Eventually, though, I managed to stand up, find the pill, and make my way to bed. I turned off the lights and lay there quietly willing the medicine to start doing its work—and quickly.

When we are hurting, our problems can fill our entire field of vision. We become doubled over, focused only on the pain right in front of us. We forget the bigger picture. But Psalm 146 reminds us that God is still at work—the God who “executes justice for the oppressed… gives food to the hungry… sets the prisoners free… lifts up those who are bowed down.” God is present even in the smallest moments. God can empower a migraine sufferer to slowly make her way toward a medicine drawer. God can remind us to close our eyes, rest, cancel what needs canceling, and allow healing to begin.

Several hours later I was able to drink some water, and my world slowly began to expand again. The room felt larger. The pain began to ease. And the truth is, God had been there the whole time—before the migraine, on the bathroom floor, and in the quiet darkness of the bedroom. As the Psalm reminds us, “The Lord will reign forever… for all generations.” Praise God for that eternal presence. And thanks be to our Eternal God who also places people in our lives—friends, family, neighbors, church members—who gently point us toward our faith in which we live and move and have our being.  See you Sunday!

Peace, Pastor Tracy