Psalm 102:1-28

We have a place to go when we are in trouble.  The twists and turns of this life will likely lead us to a place of pain and problems, but we are never alone in these situations.  God is always with us and He is always over us as well as available to us during those times of trouble.  We are never alone and can look to Him, call out to Him and trust Him to take care of our needs in every situation.  When we are worried or distressed we can turn to Him and know that He is aware and in control of the events that surround us.  We may not understand the circumstance we face or know why He would allow them but we can remember and rest in the truth that He does know what He is doing, and is in perfect control of all that happens in our lives.

WE CAN CRY OUT TO GOD IN TIMES OF DISTRESS: The best thing that we can do when we are in trouble is to cry out to the Lord.  There will certainly be times when we feel like He is not hearing us or that that He does not care about the circumstances that we are facing.  When we feel like that, we must persist at calling out to God.  It always seems that we want answers faster than He wants to give them to us, but we cannot allow that to discourage us or cause us undue distress.  We may get to the point that we feel that we cannot go forward.  Our bodies may feel like they are withering, our hearts may be breaking inside of us, we may get so bad that we forget to eat but we must continue calling out to the Lord.  We may feel all alone in the middle of the wilderness or like we are surrounded by the worst of our enemies, but we must call out to the Lord.  It may even seem like the Lord has abandoned us and that our lives are fading away from us, but we must continue to call out to the Lord.

WE CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE IN GOD AT TIMES OF DESPAIR: Our circumstances are far different from the reality of God and the control that He has over the world.  We can have complete trust in the truth that He is in absolute control of all that is going on in our lives.  God is eternal and from generation to generation He is always the same.  He will have mercy on His own and He will judge the nations that do not fear Him.  God’s glory is greater than any of the rulers of this world and yet He takes the time to hear the prayers of the most humble child of His.  Future generations will all be able to look back and see the faithfulness of God that is not always as evident to those who are in the middle of the trials.  The reality is that God never changes and we can have complete confidence in that fact.  He will defend the helpless and cause all men to worship Him.


WE CAN HAVE COMFORT FROM GOD IN TIMES OF DISCIPLINE: God is faithful to discipline His children.  He may cut off our strength or even shorten our lives because of our rebellion and sin.  However, we can still take comfort in the fact that He is in control of all that is going on and that He hears us when we cry out to Him.  God endures from generation to generation and has laid the foundations of the earth.  No matter what happens or how difficult things become for us; God is still the same for all of eternity.  We can have comfort in the fact that He cares for His children and that He will make them secure even in there are times when they must be disciplined.  God will always to what is right and we can be assured of that very truth.

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