Our Help in Trouble

There are times in life when we feel devastated, overwhelmed and hopeless. Total surrender to God is the key to making sense of our circumstances. Surrendering our family and future to God, walking away from our worries and leaving them in His hands is the only action that will keep us sane. God will give us grace for today, but tomorrow's grace will not come until tomorrow.

As long as we are still alive, we have hope (Ecclesiastes 9:4). The Lord saves the brokenhearted and those crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). He binds our wounds and carries our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4, Psalm 147:3). Our hope comes from God alone and He gives us rest for our soul (Psalm 43:5; 62:5). As we put our hope in Him, the Lord rescues us from our trials (Psalm 39:7; 2 Peter 2:9). If we keep our faith and hope in God, anything is possible (Mark 9:23).

When trouble surrounds us and life is hard, we know that there is always a way out, because God loved us enough to lay His life down for us (2 Corinthians 4:8). God has good plans for His righteous ones and there is always hope in our future (Jeremiah 29:11). There is no need to fear anything, which life throws at us or that people threaten us with. We relinquish them all to the Lord for Him to deal with.

If we call out to the Lord, and pray to Him for help, He never fails to hear us. Our cries always reach His ears (Psalm 18:8). Our Lord and Redeemer strengthens us and holds us up with His victorious right hand (Isaiah 41:10, 13-14). Full surrender to God’s will in every circumstance is the only way to stay sane. If we continue to strive in our own way, we will continue to feel frustrated and hopeless.

We trust in God, not in our family or friends, job or bank account, talents or human reasoning, church or neighbors. If we do, we put too much pressure on others when we expect them to support us more than they already are. They will feel undue stress and push back or ignore us. We have to get our eyes off our self and onto God. Then He will keep us in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Troubles are round us on every side, but we are not shut in; things are hard for us, but God shows us a way out of them (2 Corinthians 4:8). He leads us one step at a time (Matthew 6:31-34). Do not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:25-30). Face today braced by God’s Spirit and praising God for who He is. Follow the leading of God’s Spirit throughout each day, even if you do not want to obey. Then, God will pour showers of blessings on you all the days of your life.

Prayer:

Father God, even when we take our focus off You in the midst of our tribulation, we know without a doubt that You are always there for us, loving us unconditionally and giving us the victory through Your death and resurrection. Nothing this world has to offer compares to the hope we have, which comes only from You (Psalm 62:5; Ecclesiastes 9:4). You are always on our side, ever loving us and drawing us daily closer to Your heart (John 6:44; Psalm 136:1).

Thought for the Day:

God’s sheltering arms keep us from falling and He lifts us up when we are discouraged. - Psalm 145:14

The Journey through Depression

Read: Psalm 56:8-9

“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.”

– Psalm 107:13-14

The journey through depression is often slow and frustrating. We may not even be aware of what is causing this darkness in our life. Negative conditions and emotions are signals that there are issues in our soul – our mind, will and emotions - that need correcting. It may be our attitude, unholy activities, unforgiveness toward our self or someone else, carnal goals and aspirations, filling our hectic life with too many activities or some deep hurt that is still unknowingly festering within. Journaling is an excellent way to stay in touch with our soul. If we know what we are thinking and feeling, we can more readily word our prayers and ask others for help.

God also brings His Saints to our rescue. The Bible encourages us to share one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). However, first we must be honest enough to admit to our self that we are troubled and humble enough to confess our true feelings and circumstances to another human being (James 4:10; Proverbs 29:23). Even the most detailed of plans can fail without God’s wisdom and a multitude of counseling from those who already walked this way before us (Proverbs 15:22). Therapists can help as well, because they are trained to understand the human mind and they can help us to unlock hidden doors within our soul.

In the pit of gloom, we have obstacles to overcome, but we lack energy or direction. However, even in times of depression, God will speak to us, if we will seek Him and listen for His voice (Isaiah 45:3). The Lord is good to those who wait for Him (Lamentations 3:25). His unfailing love rests upon us as we wait on Him (Psalm 33:22). By drawing near to God, He draws near to us. As we surrender our life to Him, walk away from our sin and allow Him to purify our heart, .He enables us to identify and resist Satan’s lies until clarity comes to our mind (James 4:7-8).

As we wait upon the Lord, our heart takes courage and our hope rises (Psalm 27:14, 39:7; 40:1). However, waiting is the hardest discipline for humanity today. We eat instant food. We have instantaneous access to the world through the Internet on our phone in the palm of our hand. We immediately access cash with an ATM machine. We get instant answers to all of our questions via Wikipedia, Google, and the like. We have direct help in a few moments of time for any technological issue we experience.

We are not used to waiting. We get frustrated waiting in long lines, and at red traffic lights, and in the doctor’s waiting room, and for the restaurant waitress to bring our food and for people to show up on time for an appointment with us, etc. Waiting takes patience in the face of our suffering (James 5:10). However, God uses times of waiting in our life to heal us from our losses, to renew our strength, and to prepare us for the next trial, so we can mount up with wings and soar with the eagles (Isaiah 40:31).

God is waiting too. He desires a people who will look to Him and wait on Him for His intervention. God will always hear us when we cry out to Him (Micah 7:7). Jesus, our high priest, experienced every trial and temptation that we do in our life, and He can sympathize with and relate to what we are going through at any given moment in our life (Hebrews 4:15-16). He empowers us, even when we are tired, weak and worn out. He does His perfect work in us as we wait on Him (Isaiah 40:29; Job 5:11; Philippians 1:6).

Prayer:

Father God, we thank You for Jesus as our Rock, our firm foundation in this stormy world in which we live. We look to You to put a new song in our heart, so that we can praise You in the midst of our negative circumstances (Psalm 40:3). Remind us that You work out all things, even the depressing issues in our life, for our good (Romans 8:28). Use our weaknesses to show other people that it is Your joy that upholds us and gives us our strength (Psalm 40:1-3). Thank you for Your strength as our sword and shield. Our heart trusts in You and leaps for joy, because You are our help in times of trouble (Psalm 28:7).

Thought for the Day:

God keeps track of our sorrows in His journal and stores every one of our tears in His bottle. - Psalm 56:8

Help in Times of Trouble

Read: Psalm 46: 1-3

“You will give me greater honor than before and turn again and comfort me.” - Psalms 71:21 (TLB)

In the past, I often struggled with feeling undeserving of God’s love and care. Satan magnified my imperfections and convinced me that God was upset with me or did not care about me. During stressful times, I often viewed the agitation as a curse from God. I accused Him of holding a grudge against me. In reality, the opposite is true. These stressful events actually come into my life so that He can prove to me that He is the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3; 7:6).

As soon as a hint of trouble arises in our lives, God offers Himself to us as a strong tower (Proverbs 18:10). Just as in Biblical days, He allows these trials to provide us and those around us with a glimpse of His awesome power in our lives. When others see Him working events out for our good, they may eventually turn to Him in their day of trouble. They may even ask us why we have so much peace in so much turmoil. At these times, we can be ready with our testimony of His grace and love.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for supplying all of our needs according to Your riches in glory. Help me to live my life so that people will see Your faithfulness and glorify You in their lives. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

Remember that there will always be times such as this, and God will always be faithful.