By Keith Spurgin

Lead pastor of New Hope Christian Church in Wylie

Several years ago I was going through a difficult time. I was getting a ton of criticism publicly and privately. It was painful, disconcerting, and confusing. I was down and discouraged.

In the midst of this season a guy posted some horrible stuff about me on social media. He’s an alcoholic and apparently had gone on a binge. In his stupor he decided to lash out at me for the entire world to see. This was a Saturday night and apparently some people told him, “Take it down, or else” and he did.

As a result I never saw it. The next morning a couple of my guys, who are self-proclaimed rednecks came up to me with intense looks on their faces. They took me aside and said, “Wha’dya you wan’ us to do?”

I smiled and said, “What do you mean?”

One of them looked at me incredulously and said, “About the guy who said that stuff last night.”

I must have had a dumb look on my face because the other guy said, “You didn’t see the post last night?”

I said, “No, what are you talking about?”

They explained what had happened and once again said, “Wha’dya wan’ us to do?”

I smiled nervously and said, “Guys, don’t do anything!”

One of them said, “Just say the word and we’ll take care of it! I mean we’re saved, but not that saved. So wha’dya wan’ us to do?”

Fortunately they were joking…mostly! It was a funny interaction but I walked away from that conversation with an overwhelming sense that even though I was going through a very difficult time, God had my back and I was going to be ok.

We all go through times of disorientation and hurt. Sometimes we feel more alone than we thought possible. Sometimes the pain is beyond description. But it is in those moments that Jesus most often reveals himself.

Psalm 34:18 says – The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

If you are down, discouraged, depressed, or disoriented I want to encourage you to do one thing; just look around. Open your eyes to see if God might whisper to you. It might be through nature, something beautiful, a song, your dog, a friend, or maybe through a couple of rednecks but however he does it, pay attention. He is with you. He never leaves and he’s often simply waiting for you and me to acknowledge his presence. You’ll be glad you did.

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