"You don’t get it"

“No one understands.” Ever hear that? Feel that? SAY that? All of us have probably encountered it; it presents itself as this forgotten or forsaken reality of being hopelessly cut off. Those of us with addictions, disorders and compulsions especially live this out. And that’s part of the problem. Whether it’s an eating disorder, a substance abuse issue or a mental illness challenge, isolation becomes a driving force, only complicating the situation further. We say to anyone and everyone, “You don’t get it.” And we may even believe God doesn’t understand as well. We believe the lie we are alone and hopeless. But we aren’t. God IS there and He DOES get it. Whatever thoughts we possess, including the destructive “No one understands” theory, God knows it: So, yes, there’s hope and comfort in knowing God is aware of it all. “I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.” Job 42:2 “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” Psalm 139:1-6 “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” Psalms 139:17-18 But we have a role in this situation. It comes down to our thoughts. What are they? We need to take responsibility for them. It sounds cliché; there’s probably eye rolling and groaning at that statement. Nevertheless, it is valid. We have free will. And we choose to think- or obsess upon- any given thought, be it positive or negative. And so, that requires both introspection and relationship with God about that reality, whatever it may be: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:” Psalms 139:23 And it requires addressing the reality check of our thoughts versus God’s thoughts. They may not actually be the same thing. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 And by accepting the Truth that God knows more than we do, we can face that thought in a better way. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:5 We don’t determine our entire existence; God does. And God has tremendous plans regarding us: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 So do we reject that thought and embrace the “you don’t get it/I’m alone thought” instead? We are not hopeless; God is always there. Love, mercy, help, protection, provision- it’s God, in a multitude of ways. Do we see it? Let’s get THAT! Copyright © 2013 by Sheryle Cruse