Through the doubts and fears that assail us as new Believers in Jesus Christ, God teaches us that His wisdom and power will see us through every issue that we will ever face. We are confident in His love for us, and we grow to desire nothing more than to dwell in His courts both day and night (Psalm 27:4).
Regardless of the type of trials that assail us throughout our lifetime, God proves Himself faithful to us over and over again. His unconditional love and provision for all of our needs are a constant reminder of His watchfulness over His children.
We never need to doubt His Word or His protective Fatherhood over us. As we place our personal cares onto His broad shoulders, He proves His care for us (1 Peter 5:7). He wants us to turn to Him though every moment of our day, to walk in His plans for us, and to follow the guidance of His Spirit (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Jesus promises that we will always have tribulation on this earth (John 16:33), but we can be cheerful and praise God for them, in them and through them. Jesus overcame His testing, and He abides within us, so that we can live victoriously too (Colossians 1:27).
Paul and Silas give us a perfect example of mature behavior in tribulation. They praised God in the midst of their imprisonment and God worked on their behalf – resulting in the jailer and His family coming to faith in Christ’s finished work on Calvary’s cross (Acts 16:23-34).
We rejoice in the Lord always, and His peace lifts us above every trial as it guards our heart and mind (Philippians 4:4, 6-7). Tribulation tests our faith in God’s faithfulness, allows patience to perfect us, and produces Godly character and perseverance in us (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3).
We learn to cling to hope and to look forward to the seed for a miracle that God plants in each hardship that we face (Romans 5:3-5). God is faithful, loving, generous, and bountiful in His mercy toward us in every experience that we face in our lifetime.
Prayer:
Father God, in this broken and scary world, we know that we can trust in You to give us joy in both our troubles and blessings - in spite of our circumstances. You are always worthy of our praise, and we never have any cause to blame You for not answering our prayers with the result that we want. Your ways are higher than our human understanding, and You always bless us in ways that we could never even imagine.
Thank You for Your faithful care for all of us individually through every moment of our day, regardless of what we experience in each one of them. We praise You through every challenge that we face and every heart-rending disappointment that we ever experience. You are worthy of all of our praise, and Your faithfulness is deeper than the oceans and higher than the sky (Psalm 103:11).
Thought for the Day:
God hears our prayers as we cry to Him for help, He never hides His face from us when we experience any type of trouble, and He listens closely and answers us quickly when we call to Him; regardless of our physical, emotional, relational, financial, mental, spiritual or financial pain, even when our body aches and we feel misunderstood and dejected and broken, He remains faithful to us and restores to us the years that calamity stole from us.
- Psalm 102:1-11; Joel 2:25
