God is our comfort no matter what we are experiencing in
life. When we persevere through a trial, we conquer the test and receive the
crown of life promised by God to those who love Him (James 1:12).
I am not really motivated by rewards, but I am motivated
by the thought of casting our crowns, which God gives us, at the feet of Jesus,
our King and Lord (Revelation 4:10-11). After all, He deserves them.
When
we lay our life down for the cause of Christ, working tirelessly in the service
which He calls us to do, we receive His eternal crown of life - the carnal
traded for the eternal (Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 9:25).
When
we go through trials, we change our focus from the suffering in this present
world, knowing that our tested faith provides us with patience; and patience
makes us perfect and complete, lacking in no good thing (James 1:2-4).
Through
each test, God comforts us. We are faint, our bones are in agony, our soul is
in anguish, we are worn out from groaning, we toss and turn and cry into our
pillow all night long, our eyes grow weak with sorrow.
Yet,
God hears our cries and accepts our prayers. He gives us mercy, delivers us and
showers us with His unfailing love (Psalms 6:2-10). He keeps all of our tears
in His bottle and will avenge every one of them (Psalm 56:8).
We
simply admit our helplessness to our Helper (Psalm 10:12, 40:17). He guards our
life, as we devote it to Him, call on Him and trust Him all day long (Psalm
86:1-4). We lift up our soul to Him and He comforts us.
Prayer:
Father
God, You are our refuge and strength. You provide us with an ever-present help
in times in life when trials seem to pursue us. They come in waves, one right
after the other (Psalm 46:1). We take refuge in the shadow of Your wings and You
save us and deliver us (Psalm 7:1, 57:1-3).
You
are gracious to us in our loneliness and affliction, even when our troubles, infirmities
and distress multiply one upon the other (Psalm 25:16-18). As our soul grows
faint, we call on You and You lead us to the Rock of Christ, our firm
foundation on which we can stand; our strong tower against any enemy (Psalm
61:1-4; Matthew 7:24-27).
Thought
for the Day:
God
gives us relief from our misery and shows us mercy as He listens to our
prayers. - Psalm 4:1
