Five Minute Friday - Almost

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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.

it's almost time

almost over

almost home

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I almost wrote this on Friday. I started, but didn't finish. I almost didn't write it at all. Or . . . I started writing and now it's almost ready to share. 

Sometimes "almost" is bittersweet or even somewhat tragic, like when an athlete almost made the Olympic podium but didn't score quite enough. Or when a character in a movie almost escaped the danger situation . . . but didn't. Sometimes the "almost" is the escape, and then it brings a feeling of relief. I almost missed my flight, but thankfully I got there just in the knick of time! Or, I was almost fooled by the scammer but I figured it out before he got my money - whew!

I thought of a line from one of the Psalms ― "my feet had almost slipped" ― and looked it up, to decide if I wanted to quote it, and found myself drawn into the scenario the psalmist was describing. I was surprised, in a way, that it was comparable to what happens in my thought life sometimes. Here's how it starts:

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

I had nearly lost my foothold.

~Psalm 73:1-2~

He's saying, "Yes, I know God is good, but I was about to lose my grip." What caused him to slip and almost fall?

For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

~Psalm 73:3~

Okay, I get that. It's very tempting to be envious or just discouraged or frustrated that the worst people seem to be doing really well in life. That's not fair!

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

and have washed my hands in innocence.

All day long I have been afflicted,

and every morning brings new punishments.

~Psalm 73:13-14~

Have you ever felt like this? I have. Like, what good has it done me to work hard and do the right thing when I keep getting kicked in the teeth? Why is there no reward at all for being honest? Good guys never seem to get ahead and that's not fair! Why is everyone else experiencing success and I'm stuck in a rut? Why am I the one that keeps getting sent back to square one, without even collecting the $200? That's not fair, and I'm sick of being on the losing end!

And that's when he ALMOST gave up.

When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply

till I entered the sanctuary of God;

then I understood their final destiny.

~Psalm 73:16-17~

We're often not going to understand how it is that evil people get away with evil and seem to be winning at life, and how it is that following God's way really is best. We need God's perspective on justice and on success to help us.

Like the psalmist, I sometimes get dangerously close to discouragement and despair. Almost giving up, or almost getting sucked into doing or thinking the wrong thing. I've slipped many times, and I've almost fallen. The only reason I haven't gone right off a cliff is that God is faithful and strong, and has saved and protected me, and he's helped me adjust my attitude, which is usually the real problem!

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

~Psalm 73:23-26~

Whenever I'm almost ready to give up, almost at the end of my rope, and it seems like things are almost over in a bad way . . . God is still there, and still holding my hand. So I won't give up. It's almost morning. Trust him and hang in there, because we're almost there, almost home. 

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I almost chose the song "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog, but this one from Twenty One Pilots was the first one that came to mind.

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This post is linked at Five Minute Friday for the word prompt "Almost".

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