As a good defense maneuver, being positioned high up in the rocks afforded soldiers surveillance and security. During troubled times, we too need to seek the protection and refuge of the only reliable stronghold we have…God. For when we seek Him for solace…He’s always there.
Category: Barnabus Ministry
I Peter 5:10 ” And the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
“It is God Who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” (Psalm 18:32) Yes, it’s only by God’s grace, His unearned and unmerited favor, that we are able to make it through trials and suffering. For this verse shows that it is God, not us, that accomplishes this for Believers…to prepare, repair, and perfect us during and after troubling times for His glory.
Psalm 112:7-8 ” He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.”
As the song title goes, “Whose Report will you Believe Today?” The bad one the Doctor has just delivered to you…leaving you sad and filled with pain and calamity. Or the report of the Lord’s which is filled with certainty and promise? For when our strength comes from Him and not ourselves, we can rest securely, without fear…leaning heavily upon God’s grace and mercy.
Hebrews 10:23 ” Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.”
Sometimes it’s just a matter of holding on for the day. Holding on to our courage and the hope of which we boast, (Hebrews 3:6) and remaining steady in our sense of confidence that God is truly in control of the chaos around us. And as long as we can affirm to ourselves His goodness and love…we can hold on for another day.
Lamentations 3:19-20 ” I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.”
In these verses Jeremiah is dejected and overwhelmed by the suffering he is witnessing in Jerusalem. In his head he was acknowledging God’s sovereignty…but he was still confused and disheartened by all the destruction around him. We’re the same way in the middle of trials. We know that God is there and in control…but when we’re overcome by it all, it’s hard to remain rational. Jeremiah was honestly laying all his feelings, concerns and complaints before his Heavenly Father, knowing that God would listen and not judge. And today we too have that same opportunity to speak candidly and openly to God without fear of retribution.
Acts 22:6-7 ” About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute Me?’ “
Saul knew immediately and absolutely just who was speaking to him. For his response to the voice was, “Who are You, Lord?” For in an instant, Saul realized the deity and supremacy of the voice of the Lord. We all someday will hear that same voice of the Lord. For some it will be the stern voice at Judgement Day…but for others it will be the kind words, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
Job 7:7 ” Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath…”
As James 4:14 reminds us, “We are a mist that appears for a little while and then is fleeting.” Our lives…our very existence, is just a passing vapor in the air. But we can take comfort and consolation in this…God is the Source of all life and holds our life in the palm of His hand.
John 11:43-44 ” When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’ “
Are you bound up in the burial clothes of sin? Do addictions have you shackled to a life you hate? Do you long to be free of the things that have kept you from moving ahead? Then obey the command of Jesus, “Come out!” Yes, the decision is yours to make. You can remain wrapped up tightly in the burial clothes of sin, guilt and shame…or you can walk out of that grave you call your life today and live.
Psalm 25:14 ” The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.”
In the middle of desperate, troubling times our emotions can’t be trusted. But what can be trusted is what the Lord has done for us in the past…those landmarks of our life when God moved mightily. For it was in those turning points when we clearly were able to see His mercy and love demonstrated. And so It’s those remembrances we can fall back on today that will offer the most peace and comfort for our soul.
II Corinthians 1:3-4 ” Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
When you’re going through the crushing weight of physical, mental, or spiritual distress, you’ll receive two kinds of compassion and consolation from people. You’ll hear sympathetic, sensitive words from friends who really do care, but have never gone through what you’re experiencing. But then there are the empathetic words of those who have lived through what you are currently enduring. These wise words ring true with encouragement and reassurance that… Yes, God is still there and with His love and compassion you’ll make it through.
Safetypinlove 