So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10 NIV

A few weeks ago everything seemed to go wrong for us all at once.  I fell over on my driveway and landed on my face, at the same time our bathroom developed a leak and then the dinner started to burn.  It was a chaotic mix of blood, water and burning and a lot of inevitable stress that followed. With some help we managed to sort everything out. 

The next day was treatment day.  As usual lots of logistics to sort out getting our children to school before I was being picked up to go to hospital.   Right at the last minute one of my boys suddenly felt unwell and became really upset.  It was the straw that broke the camels back!  I cried out “oh come on, why?!!!, why now?  God this isn’t fair!”.  It wasn’t my boy’s fault, my outburst wasn’t directed at him, but he got upset, I got upset, we both cried. 

The truth is I took my eyes off Jesus, I had allowed the circumstances in front of me to overwhelm me. The consequences of this is that God felt like he was absent, my faith drifted and doubt crept in.

We can’t always control the things that happen to us or when they will happen or how many difficult situations may happen all at once. But we do have control over who we turn to when they happen.

Far from being absent when things go wrong these verses remind us that God is ever present even when things appear to go wrong for us, not only that but He is the source of strength and help. 
He is with us when we feel fearful
He is our God when we feel dismayed
He is the one that can bring peace and calm in a crisis
He is the one who lifts us up when we feel the world is against us.
He is our hope when it feels like there is none.
He will “uphold us with his righteous right hand”