The wallpaper in the master bathroom of my house was probably pretty popular in the 1990s. In 2020, it’s just too much. I have had visions of tearing it down and refurbishing the bathroom, but after three years of owning the house, I haven’t done a single thing.
Until I noticed a tiny little corner lifting up above the shower. It was like I had zero control over my hand, as I peeled that corner up and away from the wall. Now there are whole swaths of wallpaper being torn away in various places in the bathroom. Peeling corners, sections of 90’s wallpaper being torn, and sections of plaster and paint peeking through.
It looks like there’s an affliction that has overtaken the bathroom walls.
Just like my own life. Affliction and unattractive blemishes all over the walls of my life.
On occasion, I question if I’m worthy of God’s affection in the midst of my afflictions. I know that I’m not the only one who has questioned my worthiness and God’s attention. You may have questioned your own worthiness as well. The Israelites probably questioned it when they assumed that God didn’t care about them either. In Exodus 3:16 God said, I am concerned about you as a reassurance to the Israelites.
Just like He was concerned about the Israelites, He’s concerned about me and He’s concerned about you too. Throughout scripture, we see affliction in Leah, Rachel, Hannah, David and countless others. Yet we also see that God worked for each of them through their pain.
As you go through the week, possibly complaining like the Israelites, remember that God sees you. He sees your afflictions, like peeling wallpaper, and He’s working on your behalf!
~Emily
“Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt.” ~Exodus 3:16 (NKJV)
Iron Porch 