Nightmares
occur in the daytime too - even when we are wide awake. The problem with this
is that we cannot rouse from our slumber and dispel them as merely a figment of
our imagination. They are as real as the sun's rising and setting every day.
In the midst
of the nightmare of our trauma, it seems that God just does not understand or
care enough to deliver us from them. We lose a loved one, our job, home,
earthly treasures, financial security, health, family, best friend, etc.
We feel anxious,
distracted, paralyzed and hopeless, as well as discouraged, forlorn, numb and
depressed. We need a Savior to rescue us from the realities of life on this
sin-cursed earth.
In our human
reality, we dream of the sun rising to dispel this darkness that surrounds us.
We attempt to drum up the faith to believe that God is greater than our
circumstances, and that He actually notices that we need help.
In our
spiritual reality, Creator God has a perfect will for us in this dysfunctional
world. His victorious power in our life motivates and activates us to walk in
His ways (Philippians 2:12-13). We walk in His plans for our life (Ephesians 2:10).
Abiding in
His perfect will is the happiest place on earth (Jeremiah 29:11). Our meager
plans pale in comparison to His goals for our life. Our total submission to His
will is all we need to live in peace and joy.
In His
timing, God rescues us from our carnality and allows patience to do her perfect
work in us (James 1:4-8). He forgives our stubborn penchant to sin and
transforms us by His Spirit, so that we will honor Him all the days of our
life.
As long as
we trust in Him and keep our mind focused on Him, God fights our battles for
us, restores our peace, showers us with joy, and builds our faith in His
faithfulness, even in the most impossible of situations.
Prayer:
Father God,
thank You for allowing us to live as the temple of Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). This enables us to walk through the fire, like the three Hebrew
children, without being burned or even gathering the smell of smoke on our
clothing - in other words, there is no lingering side effects from the trauma
we experience on this earth (Isaiah 43:2-3). You teach us compassion and build
our faith in You by these fiery trials.
Even when we
lose everything we own - displaced and homeless, and are forced to start all
over again - You walk with us and in us. When we are suffering, weak and
traumatized, You never fail to help us to recover, replace and even sometimes
restore what we lost. Thank You for Your everlasting protection and provision
for us in every moment of our need.
Thought for
the Day:
God cares
about every aspect of our life - even the little things that we hesitate to
bother Him with; His faithfulness and power are just waiting for us to humble
our self before Him, admit that we need Him, and call on Him for redemption regardless
of the situation.
