Looking to the Lord in Times of Need

            There are times of trial which befall believer and unbeliever alike during the course of a lifetime.  These hard times may come by way of loss or through the poor choices which one makes..  Perhaps the most difficult trial to endure is losing a close relationship through death or estrangement.  When you are in the midst of these times of doubt, times of hurting, where do you turn?  In which direction do you turn your eyes: upward, inward or straight ahead?

            We live in a society which constantly teaches us to trust only in ourselves.  When hardships come, we are taught to draw upon the resources around us, our relationships, family and friends.  We often try to offset the bad parts of our lives with what the world teaches us is good: money, power and position.  Yet, all of this leads to emptiness, for the resources of the world are finite.  All the money in the world cannot stop the heart from crying out in pain and anguish when we are hurt, in times of doubt and despair.  The best relationships, while they offer support and often are the means by which God ministers to us, cannot quite calm the storms of fear which lay buried deep within the hearts of all humankind.

            Trusting in the resources of the world, or looking straight ahead, during times of trial results in only an illusion of peace, a false sense of security.  For all of the things of this earth will one day pass away.  Perhaps realizing this, many people turn inward and live in a state of fear and self-pity.  This looking inward often results in an endless cycle of fear and doubt.  Many spend their days on this treadmill of fear.

            How should we as believers be different in the way in which we combat this fear?  How should we react when times of trouble assail us?  In Psalm 121, David tells us to look up to Him who made the heavens and earth.  David shows us that our help is to come from the Lord.  This is what makes us different from the world, for the one who created us also wishes for us to trust in Him and to seek Him as a source of strength.

            This Psalm further illustrates the completeness of His protection on the believer's life.  He watches over us both night and day, keeping us from all harm.  Not only does He watch over you now, but will watch over you forevermore.  Why then, do we live in our tiny worlds of fear?  If He will watch over our entire lives, nothing which can happen to us is out of His control.

            There is great power in this promise.  Yet, there is action involved on our part.: trust.  It is a simple word, yet so difficult.  How do you free your life from fear?  How do you live a life which does not need to focus upon the passing to offset the insecurity and fear which rampantly race through the hearts of mankind?  Trust in God.  Believe fully in your heart that this same God who created this earth, who created you, will care for you and provide for your every need.  Claim the promises of Christ.

            Throughout the Bible, there are so many promises to those who trust.  Psalm 125:1 says "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever."  By trusting fully in the Lord, we can be a people who are not perplexed and ruled by the trials of life,  but rather stand on a firm foundation.  We can persevere regardless of the difficulty, knowing full well that we are under God's sovereign care.  We can enjoy peace in this lifetime, knowing that our gentle Shepherd indeed will lead us safely through this life.

            Oh, believer, that you may indeed trust in Him through each and every day of your life.  For truly, in trusting you will find peace and rest for your soul.

Delivered

Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of refuge,
A fortress of defense to save me.

Psalm 31:2 (NKJV)

Thought for today: Hemmed in from all sides, that is the only way that Jake could describe the situation.  He and his men were fiercely fighting off hundreds of Vietcong from all sides of the hilltop that they were on.  He had already lost one of his sergeants who was in charge of one fire team.  Jake knew that the inevitable was coming, sooner than he would like.  Without a radio, he was helpless and could not call for backup or for artillery fire.  

Have you ever felt like Jake, ready to be taken down by the overwhelming circumstances in your life?  Perhaps you have felt like you had no place to turn, no help in sight, no end to the circumstances.  Life tends to do that to us at times, doesn't it?  We think that things are going fine and then, kaboom, something happens and we are ducking for cover.  Maybe an illness, loss of a job, fractured relationship or inner turmoil.

Jake could not believe what he was hearing.  Clearly, it was the whirring of a helicopter's blades.  Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Chinook-cobra chopper appeared and then four more. As they reigned down an arsenal of machine gun fire on the enemy troops, a Huey appeared and evacuated all of the men from the hilltop.  Later, Jake asked the commander of the mission how he had known to find them.  Apparently, just after he was hit, Jake's radio operator had sent a brief message asking for help.  The squadron had heard the faint message, so they assembled to launch a mission.

While Jake never would have thought he would be saved, one request, barely audible, from a dying man, had saved.   We too can make a faint request to the Lord, asking for help and deliverance.  He will deliver and He is a fortress, a place to hide when embroiled in the circumstances of life.  Will you not go it alone today, but reach out to the Lord and ask for help?  You may not have the words to say, but He knows your heart and is waiting for you to reach out, even in the simplest ways.  Will you ask today?

Heavenly Father, thank you that You are a refuge and One who never fails us and always delivers us.  Help us to trust you more, knowing that we can wholly lean on you.  In Jesus' name.

Forever Thankful

To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Psalm 30:12 (NKJV)

Thought for today: The framed needlepoint on the wall had the quote "Silence is golden."  Maybe years ago, when his house was full of growing children, Jim would have thought that. Now, he sits alone most days even though his wife Mary is living with him.  The deafening silence around him is in stark contrast to the myriad of thoughts running through the halls of his mind.  You see, ungratefulness can lead one down a road that one never thought possible.  

Mary was once Jim's precious treasure.  Yet, as time rolled on, he became less grateful and more critical.  The pressure of raising six children and not being able to agree on a set of defining principles wore at them and caused them to drift apart. Now, sadly, they look at each other more as someone that they are stuck with rather than a gift from God, someone with whom to share life.

Sadly, in our busyness, we can become ungrateful. Sometimes, the ungratefulness is very visible to us and perhaps to those around us.  Other times, we can nurture a secret ungratefulness that is an irritant to our souls.  The later is by far the more dangerous, since we may not even be aware of the ungratefulness until it is too late.

So, how do we deal with ungratefulness?  Recognize it for what it is: sin, plain and simple.  Have you ever given a gift to someone, thinking that it was the perfect gift just to find out on a visit to their house that the gift was never used or, worse yet, given away as a gift so someone else?  Think about how much of a slap on the face it must be to our Lord when we are not grateful for what we He has given.  Would we dare tell him to His face that the gift is not what we wanted?  No, probably not.  Yet, in attitude we are effectively saying this to our most loving Lord.

What are you ungrateful for?  Perhaps you have a strained relationship and think that it has caused you such a burden, dragged you down.  Perhaps your spouse is not the person who you thought he or she would be.  Maybe you are ungrateful for not having all that you want.  The only way to fix this is to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.  As David wrote in the verse above, forever be thankful and sing praise to the Lord.  This day, will you thank Him for all that you have in your life, even the things that you think should be different and the things that you wish you did not have?

Heavenly Father, please forgive us for our attitudes of ingratitude.  You give us wonderful, bountiful gifts.  Yet, we tell you that they are not enough.   You who know our every need indeed does supply just enough at the right time.  You are a God who uses everything to shape us and make us become like You.   This day, may we be thankful for all that you have done, are doing and will do for us.  Amen.

A Foggy Journey

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,  receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
1Peter 1:8b-9 (NKJV)

Thought for Today: Rob and Sue were driving to Rob's grandmother's house in the mountains for Christmas.  Sue decided to drive that day, even though she had never been to the house before.  She dutifully put the address into the GPS and off they went.  The day was beautiful, crisp and clear with a hint of snow in the air. As they drove down the interstate, Rob began to drift off into a deep sleep.  Sue thought about how tired Rob must be, after working many long days as a surgical resident.  The rest will do him good, she thought.  As she turned onto a back mountain road, a strange fog rolled in and made visibility nearly zero.  All Sue had to go on was the instructions from the GPS, mile by mile, turn by turn.  She tried to wake Rob up but he was in a deep sleep.  The thick fog did not dissipate even as she went further up the mountain.  Finally, the GPS indicated that they had arrived.  Grandma was waiting with a nice warm fire and dinner.

So often we want to know all of the turns that our lives will take.  Yet, God, in His divine wisdom, does not reveal everything at once, perhaps to save our sanity.  Even so, we yearn to know where we will be in life next month, next year, ten years from now.  We only know the present, our gift from the Lord as we walk this earth.  He knows the end from the beginning.  

Just as Rob and Sue arrived safely to Grandma's house thanks to the GPS, we too know that someday, having trusted in Jesus, we will indeed see the manifestation of our salvation.  On that day, we will meet Jesus face to face, the One who we can't see yet leads us in every twist and turn of this life.  Have you trusted Him, not just for your daily needs, but for your salvation?  Are you wholly leaning upon Him, attune to His leading in your life?  My prayer is that we all can fully trust Him through this foggy journey, knowing that one day the fog will be lifted and we will see Him face to face.

My Pain, My Gain

 "though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,"
1 Peter 1:6b-7

Thought for Today: In the Republic, Plato penned the allegory of the cave in which a group of people lived their entire lives chained to a wall in a cave facing the blank wall.  A fire behind them caused shadows of things and people behind them to be cast upon the wall.  They began to name the shadows and based their world on the shadows on the wall.

This life that we live, with its trials and its joys, is but a mere shadow of the reality of God.  Often, when we are faced with difficult circumstances we indeed think that this is unfair and that our lives should not be this way. Yet, beyond the pain, beyond our circumstances lies a whole spiritual dimension that we only see a mere glimpse of.  Our Lord, in His infinite wisdom, is in the business of not wasting anything.  To think that He would use our pain, our trials, our hurt to refine us, test us and make us whole is unbelievable.  Yet, His plan for our sanctification is to make us strong in our faith, that we may bring Him honor and glory.

Are you facing difficult circumstances today?  Do you hurt so bad that you think there is no possible way to keep moving forward?  Look to the Lord for strength.  He is not a cruel God, using our pain for His gain with no concern for our well being.  He will walk with you through your deepest valley and lead you out on the other side, with much gained.  My prayer is that you can trust Him to lead you, not trying to go on your own but rather fully surrendering to Him.  Can you do that today?

Delivered

In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.

Psalm 31:1 (NKJV)

Thought for Today: Myles and his son, Mike, were hiking a trail in the Deep Creek section of the Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina.  It was a clear day, not a cloud in the sky.  Myles and Mike stopped to rest and have something to eat.  They both marveled at the blueness of the sky and the beauty of God's creation on this glorious day.  After a short while, the pair began their hike again.  As they were nearing one of the waterfalls, the sky began to grow dark.  Myles had heard of popup thunderstorms but had never experienced one.  Suddenly, he and Mike were caught in a torrential downpour.  As the water fell from the sky, the ground became muddier and more difficult to walk on.  All of a sudden, Myles heard a roaring sound as he turned to see raging water from a flash flood heading their way.  Myles and Mike were swept away into the river.  As they neared the waterfall, Myles knew that their only hope was to find something to cling to so that they would not go over the falls.  In the nick of time, while holding Mike in one arm, Myles was able to grab a branch still attached to a tree on shore.  The pair clung to the branch for 4 hours until rescuers arrived and pulled them out of the water.

Sometimes, life can be like the flash flood that caught Myles and Mike by surprise.  Everything is going along fine and then suddenly, with no warning, we are swept away by a sea of turmoil caused by circumstances out of our control.  At any moment, we feel so out of control and afraid that we might go over the falls, to a place that we will never be able to return from.  During these dark times, there is only one thing to do: cling to the One in whom you have put your trust.  Do you fully trust in Jesus as you take this journey of life?  Are you caught in a raging river of difficult circumstances?  My prayer is that you would put your trust in the One who calmed the raging sea.  He knows you, He knows your circumstances and He will deliver.

Never be Ashamed

In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;

Psalm 31:1 (a)

Thought for Today: In our previous meditation, we looked at the the word trust in this verse.  As you may recall, a sailor named Leo and his shipmates were evading Castro's troops after their ship sank off the coast of Cuba.  Eventually, the group was captured and sent to a gulag. Can you imagine the shame that they felt, after being led away by the enemy troops.  Their years of training to evade capture had failed.

Do you sometimes feel so close to losing a battle in your life?  Do you worry about being ashamed that you could not handle this battle yourself?  Perhaps you have been unable to overcome some circumstances in your life and feel like a failure.  You've been taught that good Christians don't struggle, don't have problems.  I'm here to tell you that we all struggle and will struggle until we cross over to Glory.  We will never be ashamed if we put our trust fully in Jesus.  You see, He uses our weaknesses, our failures, even our poor choices, for His purpose that His will be done on this earth.  This day, can you trust Him fully, knowing that you will never be ashamed, bringing all of your trials, all of your weaknesses, all of your failures before Him?  My prayer is that you will know His peace as you seek refuge in Him knowing that nothing is outside of His will for you.