Psalm 46:1-11

There are storms in this life that can easily shake our faith and fill us with fear, but we are not alone in the storms of life.  God is always available to us to provide a shelter from the storms and give us hope in the midst of our troubles.  It is very important that we always remember that we are not alone.  Even when it feels like we are adrift in the midst of the ocean with wind and waves tossing us back and forth; we must remember that God is right there with us.  He has the ability to calm the wind and the waves, guide us to our destination and protect us from the storms of this life.  We must not doubt Him, ignore Him or forget about Him.  He is always available to us and can handle any problem we face.  Our job is to trust Him, take our troubles to Him and then praise His greatness to all the nations of the world.

GOD PROTECTS US WITH HIS PRESENCE: God is always with us and stands ready to help us in every situation that we might face.  There are those who are present but not helpful.  Others would be helpful but they are not present.  God is always present and is able to help us overcome any troubles that may come our way.  There is no need for us to fear even in the most difficult of circumstances.  In the times that we feel that all hope is lost and everything is spinning out of control; God is right there with us and we can simply trust Him.  Fear and faith have no place in the same heart.  Where there is fear there is no faith and where there is faith there is no fear.  When we recognize that God is always with us, we can stand fearless in any situation because we trust in His protection.

GOD PROTECTS US WITH HIS POWER:  God is never threatened by the most dangerous and prominent nations.  The most powerful people on the planet do not cause worry or concern to God.  His power is far greater than any of the peoples of the earth.  One of the most common means of attacking a fortified city was for the opposing army to simply cut off the water supply to the city and then just sit back and wait for them to die or surrender.  However, God is like a river that provides protection from this kind of threat.  No matter how strong the nation is that stands against us; God can bring it to its knees with the mere sound of His voice.  The all-powerful God who created and sustains the universe is with us.  We must learn to rejoice in the protection that His power provides.  Our hearts should jump for joy and be filled with gladness because we are protected by our all-powerful God.    


GOD PROTECTS US WITH HIS PEACE: God is able to bring peace in the middle of a battlefield.  The psalmist invites us to observe what God has done on the earth.  God has made the fiercest enemy fall in desolation.  He has broken and burned all their instruments of war so that they stand defenseless and powerless before Him.  He brings peace to His people even in the midst of war.  We get in trouble when we think that we are in charge and that our security depends on our own strength.  God instructs us to simply be still and rest in the fact that He is God and recognize that we are not.  When we run about striving to solve our own problems we get stressed out and can find no peace.  God calls us to rest in His protection and then praise His glorious name because of the peace that He provides us in the midst of a war filled world.  God provides peace and we produce praise. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than any of the other people of his
Read more

1 Timothy 1:3-7

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not   to teach any different doctrine,   nor   to devote themselves to myths and endless   genealogies, which promote   speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.    The aim of our charge is love   that issues from a pure heart and   a good conscience and   a sincere faith.    Certain persons, by   swerving from these, have wandered away into   vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law,   without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.   There will always be false teachers that come into the church attempting to distract people from the truth and destroy people’s faith.  When this happens, it is the job of spiritually mature leaders to confront these false teachers and correct their teachings.  However, it is important that this correction be accomplished with the right motives and methods. 
Read more

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Let a woman learn quietly   with all submissiveness.    I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.    For Adam was formed first,   then Eve;   and Adam was not deceived, but   the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.    Yet she will be saved through   childbearing—if they continue in   faith and love and holiness, with self-control. There is certainly controversy and confusion about this passage in many churches today.  The idea of a distinction between men and women and their roles in the family and church certainly goes against the flow of many cultures around the world.  Some would argue that the literal and plain teaching of this passage is no longer applicable to today’s culture.  However, it is always dangerous to discard biblical teaching or try to interpret Scripture based on the cultures in which we live.  Certainly, the Spirit who inspired this text was aware of the many changes that would occur in future cul
Read more