The blood was gushing down my knee onto the carpet. I knocked frantically on the bathroom door to get my Dad. It seemed like he was taking forever to answer. The blood was flowing fast, and being a young kid, I was crying convulsively. This looked bad. Really bad. They may have to amputate.

Rewind a few minutes and I was washing the hood of my parents car. I climbed up on the hood and I was scrubbing it like crazy as the bubbles were rapidly increasing. It began to get slippery and I started sliding off the front of the car, and I could not stop myself! I slid off the hood of the car and my knee landed directly on the top of the front license plate. At first there was little pain until I realized blood from my knee began to stain the driveway. I began to cry and ran inside the house to get my Dad.

When my Dad finally answered the door he asked what happened, and I told him the quick story. He seemed calm. He cleaned up the blood and reassured me. Once the bloody mess was gone, we both saw the cut, and sure it was bad, but not as bad as the rivers of blood made it look. We did go to the doctors and I got a few stitches. It was not as bad as it looked.

Some situations in life look horribly bad. We see nothing but possible trouble and definite trials. But as we revert our eyes off of the situation and onto the Lord, He opens the door, comforts us, cleans us up and calms our nerves. He helps us to realize that it’s not as bad as it looks. He can bring us comfort even in the midst of conflicts. He stitches up those open wounds. The Lord brings help and healing  in the midst of every hardship.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” – Psalm 46:1