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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

God is our Hope Especially in times of Trouble



The Bible – Good News Translation


1 God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. 2 So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the ocean depths; 3 even if the seas roar and rage, and the hills are shaken by the violence.

Thoughts:

Ever have someone stop you and ask “why are you so calm about everything?”, or “how can you be so happy all the time?”, or “you must have a lot of self-will because nothing seems to phase you”? In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told that we must be ready at all times to give an account of the ‘Hope’ that lies within us. David is drawing to our attention in this Psalm that in times of trouble, we have a ‘Hope’ because God is our shelter and our strength and He is always ready and willing to help us. Through earthquakes and/or tsunamis, our God stands like a Rock, and is firm in His footing, able to help us through to the end. He is our Hope in all things! Friends, I don’t believe that we give off a false sense of security when trouble comes to our families, or to our churches or to our friends, and we calmly give it to God and wait for His guidance. When we develop our faith in God, and learn to depend on Him daily, and learn to celebrate the joys of knowing Him and His miraculous handling of our daily affairs, then it should be natural for us to look to Him, especially when things appear to be out of control, or resolutions appear to be well beyond our control or abilities. Jesus spoke intimately to His Father when He was on the cross, knowing that He had all power and the definite ability to upset the whole ‘apple-cart’ if He wanted to, but through prophecy He also knew that dying was a necessary step. If Jesus saw the need to look to His Father for help, shouldn’t we also look to Him for our every need or concern? He is our ‘Hope’ friend! Let’s learn to lean on the only One that can give us ‘Hope’, as we keep the words of Jude 1:24-25 close at hand, for our God is able, and we should learn to praise Him often for His willingness to use that ability to help His kids – us! If you do not know the One of whom I have referred to in this devotional, I would love to introduce you to Him. Please use the contact information in the ‘Note’ below to reach out to me.

Prayer:

To the God of this universe, the author and designer of mankind; the One who loved me enough to sacrifice His one and only Son so that I may have life eternal; the One who walked on water and calmed even the ocean waves; healed the sick; gave sight to the blind and raised the dead back to life. Yes, to this God, my Lord and my Savior, thank You for loving me enough to cleanse me of my sin and welcome me into Your family and into Your kingdom. With the same power that You did all of the above, I have confidence to know that You are still capable of handling the things in my world that trouble me today. I have this ‘Hope’ and I am thankful for the promises of God given to all Your children! To You be all glory, majesty and praise today. Please speak to the hearts of my family and friends that have chosen to exclude You from their lives. I pray that everyone that meditates on this devotional today might be renewed in their ‘Hope’ knowing that all power comes from You and that You are worthy of our praise. I ask this in Your precious name Lord Jesus, knowing that You are still God, AMEN!


NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.

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