November 21, 2024

Ever-Present Help in Troubles

January 3, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Psalms 46:1-3

“If one more thing goes wrong I’m going to scream!” These were my thoughts the day after Christmas. I’d been sent home early from work again…I had worked only 10 hours in four days. For those of you that don’t know, I live by myself (a “problem” that will soon be rectified) and 10 hours at my non-degree teacher’s pay is not going to do anything for paying my bills.

I had already concluded that moving home would be best and, of course, was ready to hang in there for two more months, but I didn’t need any additional stress added to the situation. Really! The stress level of the situation is high enough on its own.

I pondered…simmering in my frustrations all afternoon. I was angry. Angry at myself, my job, and my circumstances. And I felt my anger was justified. After all, I feel I’m doing the right thing and doing the right thing should be easy. I smiled at the thought, wondering what fairytale I had pulled that out of. “…doing the right thing should be easy!” But if so then Paul never would have written, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9).

When I feel discouraged or down, I like to read stories in the Bible that are similar to my own situation. I particularly favor the Old Testament. The story that came to mind? The Israelites crossing the Red Sea. This account is found in Exodus 13:17- 14:31.

What I noticed is that God did not take the Israelites through the short way because “if they face war, they might change there minds and return to Egypt” (Exodus 13:17). God knew the people’s hearts and what lay ahead. He saved them from dangers that they knew nothing of. Then He set them up at the Red Sea to see His glory.

Day and night they could see the Lord’s Presence, His continuous visual reminder that He was a constant help in time of trouble and yet, even that didn’t stop them from saying, “Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’” (Exodus 14:12).

We can be so quick to fear, grow weary and forget that God is always there, even if He is staring us in the face. Don’t be so overcome by troubles that you forget about God—your ever-present help during time of trouble.

Lord, let me never be blind to Your ever present help. Praying in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Lean In Closer

January 2, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Psalms 46:1-3

God is there. Lean in closer. We, as believers, know that He is always with us—always within the reach of our heart’s cry.

Uncertainties and difficulties are always on the horizon. I’m facing some now. Christians face difficulties like other people do. The difference is that when the storms hit, we know God is there with us. We go to Him—our Refuge and Strength. (When things are going wonderfully, let’s lean toward Him then also. The world may have a hard time distinguishing what is going on in our lives. That’s okay, if that happens. If they have an encounter with us at any time, I hope the main thing they take away is that we love God.)
God is my Refuge and Strength. He helps me enormously! It’s in the tough times that my faith, trust, and relationship with Him grow even stronger. Without Him, I wouldn’t have endured or persevered in really tough times.

When I’m tired, hurt, or face the unknown, God is my Refuge and Strength. Can you say that? Hopefully, you can! (If not, please pause now, and pray to God to allow that statement to become true for you.)

I know of several close friends who have heavy burdens right now. None of us have a completely smooth ride between birth and death. There will be many wonderful times of love, laughter, celebrations, and being with special people. There also will be many times of illness, grief, struggles, loss, loneliness, and hurts. Life is made up of a combination of all of these for every one of us. Each person’s journey will look different than someone else’s. The only way to live in a God-glorifying way is to reach toward God in all things. Don’t let the emphasis be on our circumstances. And if others do see the circumstances, may they see that in them, we loved Jesus. Each new day that we begin, let our emphasis be on His Presence in our lives and our love for Him!

I often think of Joni Eareckson Tada, who’s a quadriplegic. At the mention of her name, I also think of her great love for God. Her incredible love for Him shines even brighter because she places her love for Him way above dwelling on the circumstances she has to live in! So, her beautiful testimony of loving God within her difficult circumstances shines even brighter to bring Him even more glory! Wow! I love that!

How do we lean in closer to God? Hannah, in the Bible, prayed. When she couldn’t have the child she so desperately longed for, she prayed. The child, Samuel, came after her prayer of request and then, she prayed a prayer glorifying God. In her prayer of thankfulness, Hannah said, “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2). She drew close to her God for help and to praise Him! (See 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11 for more.)

We can lean closer to God through prayer, reading His Word, singing songs of praise and worship, and trusting and having faith in Him regardless of circumstances.

What are you going through in this season of your life? Lean in closer toward God. He is there. He is waiting with love and open arms. He will be your Refuge and Strength.

Dear Jesus,  let us always be mindful of Your Presence. Thank You for caring about us and loving us to the point of death on a cross. If You can rise from death and reign as King of kings as You have, You can certainly deal with the problems that come our way. Let us lay them at Your feet. Let us trust You completely with our difficult situations and circumstances—knowing You are to be trusted and loved in, and through, all things! In Your precious Name I pray, amen.

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Our Refuge and Strength

December 31, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah
Psalms 46:1-3

Refuge.
Strength.
Ever-present.

The earth is giving way, mountains are falling, waters are roaring and foaming, other mountains are quaking and surging; these are the Biblical terms for what we now-a-days call “all the stuff that happens in our life.”

These days, week, months and even years are the times when we search for a safe place to hide. We search for something and someone to give us the ‘oomph’ we need to conquer what we’re facing. Unfortunately we look everywhere else instead of where we should be looking. This past Sunday in church the pastor talked about how the Bible is our ‘instruction manual for life’— it tells us everything we need to know when we need to know it.

So when we need that safe place and when we need that source of strength we simply need to turn to God. He tells us clearly that He is our Refuge, He is our Safe Place, and He is our Strength, the Power we need to get through what we’re going through.
I know that this is at times much easier said than done. I know that when our seas are surging and when our mountains are falling that we want to fix life ourselves, and we may find our refuge in worry and fear, we may find our strength in what we feel we can do to sort out whatever may be going on.

The New Year is upon us and I want to challenge myself, and others, to live this passage in 2014. For myself I plan to write it in my planner. One day reminding myself that He is my Refuge, the other day reminding myself that He is my Strength. Do what works for you; remind yourself that when the stuff in life happens that we have a Refuge, and that that safe place will be our Strength to move forward.

Let’s Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, You have given us all we need to live our lives. People ask if life comes with an instruction manual…some say no, but the true answer is ‘yes.’ This manual tells us that you are our Strength and Refuge. Lord, please give spiritual sensitivity to us so that we remember this in times of trouble. Let us run to You rather than to fear and worry. Thank You for a safe place—a Refuge, and thank You for the strength to live this life. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

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