There is not a person on earth who does not go through some type of trial. Why is that? One, we live in a fallen world, Two, we are enemies of the devil but friend of God.
Whatever your situation– the Lord can meet your need! Trust Him– He loves you.
When troubles come, we can run to our Rock — the Lord is our Shelter from the storms. He does not always make the winds and the storms cease but He will give us adequate shelter until the storm passes by and will lead us on — and where He leads, we will follow. We are His sheep and Christ Jesus is our Loving Shepherd. Blessed be His name!
Sometimes, the Lord makes the storm to cease, as Psalm 107:29 says:
He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Other times, the Lord will shield us from the storm as it rages:
Psalm 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Still other times, He will walk us through the trials and storms in our lives to bring about a greater work on the inside of us:
James 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
2Cor 1:3,4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
No matter what our need may be today, there is safety in His everlasting arms. The Lord can meet our every need and He will see us through. He gives rest
to the weary. Strength to the feeble. Hope to the depressed. Comfort to the hurting. He loves us at all times. No problem is too big for God… and no problem is too small that He does not hear our cry. The Lord can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
We are to cast upon Him our every burden:
Psalm 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
As Christians, we are to pour out our hearts to Him. We are to make our requests known unto God and we are to leave our prayer closet knowing that He has heard our request and will answer us in His timing.
Psalm 40:1 “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”
We have all heard the phrase, “God helps those who help themselves.” But this is not true and it is not found in the Bible. No, the Bible tells us that God helps those who ask for His help– those who humble themselves before Him.
The Lord says in Jeremiah 33:3: Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
When we read the Psalms, we see the prayers of the faithful:
Psalm 31:24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart,
all ye that hope in the LORD.
Psalm 119:28 My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
Psalm 119:107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD,
according unto thy word.
Psalm 27:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
Psalm 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
As Christians, we are not to have anxiety. In fact anxiety is fear and fear is the opposite of faith. This is easier said than obeyed. We live in a very fast-paced and stressful society, but God calls us to live in His rest. We are in the world but we should not let worry overtake us. We should not let the every day cares overwhelm us. The Bible says in Philippians 4:6,7:
Be careful for nothing; [don’t be anxious] but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
When we take our requests to God, He gives us the peace that passes all
human understanding. He truly wants us to give him our troubles. In 1 Peter 5:7 he says “cast your cares to Him because he cares.” No matter how small or big, he wants us to cast our cares to him. It is faith to trust Him. It is not hope because hope is future and faith is now. It is a knowing.
We must make our requests known unto God — trusting Him that He knows what is best and will answer us in His timing. You see many Christians think we are not to acknowledge our woes but pretend they are not there. That is not faith. Faith is admitting we have a need, Him, and casting them to him and then standing. He can change our circumstances.
We may not see the circumstances change right away but we have peace in knowing that our prayer has been heard. We have to stand on Hebrews 11:1 believing our issues are not eternal and what we cannot see, is the Lord working it out for us because he is eternal. If he can divide the flame of a fire, don’t you think He can change our circumstances or even better, give us strength to endure our troubles. Remember you are a friend of God. Also, an heir as well as his daughter or son. If you are His daughter or son, then he is very much involved with your situation. So why don’t you rest in knowing this?
God heard our prayer and He begins His work — though we may not see any change at the moment, He is working all things out for our good. It is standing on that blind faith according to Hebrews 11:1. If He will not change the circumstance, then know that He is working on us — molding us to not be affected by the circumstance — so that we may rise above it. Our faith in Him looks Beyond what we are going through to the outcome of what will be. He is the potterer and we are the clay.
In 2 Cor 4:17-18 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Our confidence is in Christ Jesus and not in man or what we see! We we can see today, there is nothing we can secure or anchor too except the Lord. Not our 401K, retirement plan, the president, etc. No matter what our circumstance and no matter where we may be in this world, the Lord is there. He is there with His children who serve in the military. He is there with the Christian soldier who is praying in the dangerous foxhole. He is there with the Christian family who is praying in their kitchen.
Whatever situation a Christian may be in — whether in joy or tribulation– the Lord is everywhere and is so powerful that can hear every prayer request and supply everyone’s need at the same time. We serve a great and wonderful God!
What do you do when in a pressure cooker or feel defeated? Do what David did. He in the face of all his adversaries, he “found strength in the LORD his God,” v. 6! The KJV reads:
“David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”
READING THE SCRIPTURES
The Lord says in Psalm 91:15: He shall call upon me, and I will answer
him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Psalms 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
We need to be encouraged today — for the Lord shall never leave us, nor
forsake us. He may seem far at times but He is never far. It is we who have walked away from Him — allowing worry or stress to occupy our minds. When we keep our eyes upon Jesus and put our complete trust in Him, we see that, “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
The Lord will see you through and we must always remember that ALL things work together for good…
Sometimes He stills the storms;
Sometimes He shelters us from the storms;
Sometimes He walks us right through the storms and trials of our life.
