At times our soul is depressed and full of anxiety
within us. We are drudging through a dry desert and our soul is parched and
thirsty. That is the time to put our hope in the Lord (Psalm 43:5). God alone will pour out His
Living Water on our thirsty soul and bring streams to the dry desert (Isaiah
35:1, 44:3). Our soul – our mind, will and emotions – find rest in God alone.
We put our faith and trust in Him and believe that all things are possible for
us in Him (Mark 9:23). We
cling to Jesus when our faith fades and our strength weakens, because He
understands our doubts, questions and grief over the losses in our life (Hebrews 4:15).
When we draw near to God, He renews our strength and
causes us to take flight with wings like an eagle’s (Isaiah 40:31).
He is close to the brokenhearted. He saves everyone who is
crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). He
takes our infirmities and He carries our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). He heals the desolate and binds
up our wounds (Psalm 147:3). He
upholds us when we fall and lifts us up when we are discouraged (Psalm 145:14). He rescues His godly Saints from
our trials and makes all of them turn out for our good (2 Peter 2:9; Romans 8:28).
Jesus died for our sins and
gives us His Spirit to fight our battles. We have no quarrel with people, but
our conflict is against the dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realm (Ephesians 6:12).
Jesus already overcame them on Calvary’s cross. When He comes back to claim His
bride, He will wipe away all of our tears and remove pain and death from the
world. The old life will pass away and He will make everything brand new (Revelation
21:4).
We put our hope in the Lord only, because He alone is
faithful (Psalm 39:7). Before
we were ever born, He made plans for our good and not to harm us. He gives us a
blessed future full of hope (Jeremiah 1:5, 29:11). We never need to fear, because He is always with us; or to feel
distraught, because He is our God. He strengthens us, helps us and holds us up
with His victorious right hand. Even when everyone else despises us, He will
never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
There are people in our
family, church, neighborhood and workplace who are dying in their sins and
sorrows. They are walking in the ways of the world. They sow the wind and reap
a whirlwind for their efforts (Hosea 8:7).
They spend long hours accumulating things that ultimately bring them no joy.
They often despair of ever finding any meaning in life. They need to know our
Savior, our Lord, our Redeemer and our Holy One (Isaiah 41:10,13-14)..
Even when we take our focus
off the Lord in the midst of our tribulation, we know without a doubt that He
is always there for us, loving us unconditionally and giving us the victory
through His death and resurrection. Nothing this world has to offer
compares to the hope we have, which comes only from Him (Psalm 62:5; Ecclesiastes 9:4). This is
the message that our loved ones need to hear. They need to know that God is on
their side, ever loving them and drawing them to Himself (John 6:44; Psalm 136:1).
Prayer:
Lord, You are our helper, so we will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to us? In our distress we cried out to You, Lord and prayed to You for help. You hear us from Your sanctuary; our cries always reach Your ears (Psalm 18:8). Help us not to sit on the sidelines and watch those around us perish and go to hell. We present our lives to You and ask You to use us to encourage others to put their faith and trust in You. We give You our undying allegiance and we look to You for direction and sustenance in the world in which we live.
Thought for the Day:
Troubles surround us on
every side, but we are not hopeless. Even when things are hard for us, God
always gives us a way out of them (2 Corinthians 4:8).