Tuck Yourself In
by: Camille Parkman
Who knew?
Who knew one year ago that our two main sources of income would be cancelled out in one blow, by one tiny virus?
And if I only could have known that 30 seconds on skates would lead to 4 months on crutches!
Rob was so excited to skate. I didn’t even really want to go, but at the last minute FOMO took over and I was in the car with my four guys. We went out to a nearby reservoir, drove down onto the ice, and shovelled off our “rink”. With my legs sticking out of the passenger’s side door, I put my skates on and proceeded to inch my way through the snow. I didn’t even make it around the car. With a slip and a twist I was down, and in excruciating pain. Two broken bones and a surgery later, I now write this from my couch with a removable cast on my leg, looking ahead at 11 more weeks of recovery.
Life can throw curveballs that are completely out of our control. Only days ago our friends buried their beautiful young daughter. Only days ago my niece found out that her sweet little girl will struggle with epilepsy. I can’t even pretend to know what that kind of heartache feels like, but I do know who my God is, and He is still good.
Prov. 3:21 says, “You need not be afraid of disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the LORD is your security.”
The point is not that disaster will not come, but that we don’t have to fear it!
Instead, we tuck ourselves in. He is our security – a safe place in the storm.
Imagine being Joseph, thrown into a well, sold into slavery (by your very own brothers no less), and carried away to another land where he would likely never see his family or home again. He would have felt absolute despair, grief, and fear for his future. He would have felt betrayed, bitter, heart-broken and homesick beyond imagination. Just as his brothers stripped off his beautiful robe, they were also stripping him of everything he had known, the future he had dreamed of, the family and home he loved, and his very freedom (Gen. 37-46).
It was an extremely grievous situation. Or so it would seem.
But God had other designs. We see glimpses of Joseph clinging to the promises that God had given him through his dreams. As a slave, he rose up and practiced his leadership skills. As a prisoner, he still tapped into his God-given gifts and became the warden’s right-hand man. And it was in using his supernatural gift from God to interpret dreams that he was eventually freed from prison and rose into the role of second-most powerful leader in all of Egypt!
He could have succumbed to despair and barely survived. But he didn’t. He was believing. He was trusting God. He lived out his full potential.
He tucked himself in. Under the wings of his Father, he found healing and hope. And he came out stronger.
Joseph’s great faith and trust in God are spelled out for all time in his famous words, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” (Gen 50:20 ESV).
That same God is still for us. He is still with us. Still working things out for our good. Like Joseph, we can trust Him for the promise of “a hope and a future”, even when the “right now” just hurts.
So tuck yourself in. Lean hard on his grace, his goodness, his promises. Remind yourself every hour, every minute that He has a hope and a future for you – that his promises never fail. That He never fails. That He loves you intensely and has never left your side.
And then…come out stronger.
Camille Parkman is a wife, mom of three godly young men, worship leader, song-writer, recording artist, speaker and piano teacher. Camille and her speaker/author husband Rob live in Outlook, SK and have been in various types of ministry for 30 years. Her heart’s desire is that all may deeply encounter the love of God and be released into their fullest potential.
Website: camilleparkman.com
Facebook: Camille Parkman Music
Spotify artist link: CLICK HERE