Ever faithful.

These are the times that try men's souls.

The words uttered by Thomas Paine in the late 18th century are good in any context--not just a Revolutionary War. In a world marred by pain, strife, anger, and grief, times can in deed be trying.

***

It's dark. The trees whisper as you walk by. Something stirs near the ground. The chilly night air runs past as you stare up into what seems a dark abyss. You imagine you next steps down a long, wide, rocky, dirt road. Slowly, you pick up your feet. One. Two. Three. Four. Five….

You're making good progress--about 20 feet. It gets easier. Your eyes start to adjust. The trees you recognize as just that--oak trees. The night air feels good as you pick up your pace down the road.

It's a wide road. You wander from side to side. You're still not ready to peer into the forest, just to the edge. Straight ahead. Into the deep, never ending abyss.

As you walk merrily down the path--darkness and all--you trip over a rock. The fall sprains your ankle.

"Help! Help!" you scream into the night, clenching your hands to your ankle, trying to push back the pain pulsing through your leg.

The crickets only respond. You try to pick yourself up and limp down the road. But the weight is too much to bear, and you collapse to the ground.

It starts to get darker again. The trees whisper even louder. The forest seems to get closer, and the road smaller.

With tear-stained cheeks you wonder. When? When does the darkness end? When will you know you long your stuck?

When. An ever-pressing question. The hours roll on, your tears get harder. Then softer. Then harder.

Something stirs in the forest. It's a man….you think. He calls to you.

"Are you ok?"

"I hurt my ankle," you say hesitantly, pushing yourself away from him as he kneels down to you.

"Why are you walking down this dark road alone at night?"

"There was no one else who could come with me, and I had to go down the road to get home."

"You're never have to walk alone," the mysterious man replies. He then pulls out a flashlight, and you see the path's end just about 10 feet away. He picks you up, and with big, strong, sturdy arms, carries you safely to the end.

Putting you down just past the road, he leans down, and looks at your ankle.

***

Jesus did that. Just when we were lost, broken, and had given up hope, he picked us up and showed the way.

That's why I love Him. That's why I'm a Christian. Because when I'm weak, when I think I'll never get help, when I think I'll never find my answer, he shows up. Right when I need Him.

Just because, despite everything and everyone, He loves me.

And you, too.


"Cast your cares upon the Lord, and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22