Impasse

im·passe

ˈimˌpas,imˈpas/

noun

1.

a situation in which no progress is possible, esp. because of disagreement; a deadlock.

 

Furlough.  Debt ceiling.  Government shutdown.  Senate.  House.  President.  Affordable care act.  Budgets. Law of the land.  Kicking the can down the road.  Barricades.  Crisis.

Ugh.

 

My brain has been crammed so full of the current news on this situation that I think I need to take a break and go back to watching copious amounts of The Avengers with the boys.  I like the way the Hulk solves his problems much better than the way our government is anyways.

When you have three children and you are a stay-at-home mom, an impending furlough weighs pretty heavily on the overall mood of the adults in the family, i.e. the hubs and me.  We try to be very positive and cheerful and normal-ish around the kids.  Brad and I are familiar with seemingly impossible and discouraging situations.  We've had a few of them in our lives.  And by "a few of them" I mean a lot.  We go to our default roles...one of us stays positive when the other just can't.  One of us keeps their cool with the kids when the other feels like she may loose it if she has to put the flippin Captain American costume on a certain middle child one. more. time.  

So I went back over the history of the trials in our lives.  Would you believe that there has not been one single solitary time that the Lord has let us down.  Not once.  Not one time that He has decided not to act in our favor.  Not one time that He decided to let our pain go unnoticed by His grace, love and protection.  Not one single time that He chose to give us over to our own unbelief, doubt and worry and just give up on us.  Not once that HE came to an impasse and just couldn't figure out how to fix things.  But so many times where He rescued us in spite of our unfaithfulness and fear.  So many times where He let us come and hide beneath His wings.  So many times when He waited for us to give up trying to figure out how to fix things ourselves, lay our burdens down, turn to Him, and submit to His way which is always higher than our own.  So many times that He has delivered us from a desperate situation.

To me, I find comfort in the fact that not one bit of the current crisis has taken the Lord by surprise.  He promises to rescue those who love Him and protect those who acknowledge His name.  So instead of spending so much time worrying about a storm that may never hit, I wish that my immediate response when the clouds begin to form was praise and thanksgiving to a God that will not ever fail me but trusts me with suffering.  Dare I say even thank Him.

I read a quote in a devotional today (Streams In The Desert) that felt timely: 

Difficulty is actually the atmosphere surrounding a miracle, or a miracle in its initial stage.  Yet if it is to be a great miracle, the surrounding condition will be not simply a difficulty but an utter impossibility.  And it is the clinging hand of His child that makes a desperate situation a delight to God.

 

So many times God has taken a desperate-looking situation in my life-even a disastrous one-and turned it into a great blessing.  But surrender has to come first.  Coming to the end of myself is usually the beginning of finding rest and relief in Him.  Oh what a joy and relief to know there are no impasses with the Lord.  No deadlock.  No situation where progress is no longer possible.  Even when everywhere we look, all around and above us, we see turmoil and terror...when we would rather bury our heads in the sand, stay in bed, succumb to despair...the Lord is waiting for us and wanting us to depend on Him.  To let Him put His song of joy in our hearts and to let His unfailing love rest upon us.

Psalm 73:28-But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

 

Psalm 33:20-22- We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.  May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You.

 

Psalm 4:7-8-You have put more joy in my heart that they have when their grain and wine abound.  In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.