When you tell someone your testimony do you sugarcoat the story to make it more palatable and interesting to the people listening? Do you skip over moments of failure when you were not the nicest person and only relate the moments of personal triumph and success? What benefit do all the details both good and bad have in our testimony? As we recount our history and how God worked throughout it to bring us into fellowship with Himself we share the lessons that we have learned through life with those around us. Do you listen to the advice gleaned from a person’s testimony? Do you find encouragement and hope as you see how God works mightily in the lives of people? Do you look back upon God’s faithfulness in your life and find help and hope for the present difficulties and troubles you face? Continue Reading…
Find hope in God’s unwavering faithfulness: Psalm 78
A message of hope found upon the busy road of life: Psalm 75
Would you pay attention to a man on the side of the road waving his arms proclaiming that he has a message for you? Would you wonder what kind of message would need to be given to you in the midst of your busy comings and goings? Would you think that this man was a crazy lunatic? Would you lock your car doors, turn up the volume on the radio and drive away fast out of fear and anxiety? The messages that are proclaimed in the Bible are messages to you as you busily wander through life. Do you seek to avoid the convicting truths that will bring life to your dead soul? Will you listen to the message or will you listen to the noise of the world around you to overlook and ignore the message? Continue Reading…
Moments when a cry for help is all we can utter: Psalm 70
Have circumstances weighted you down to the point that you can only cry “Help”? Have words failed you as you look upon a heap of ruined hopes and dreams? Do you feel like an outcast and a reject who has no hopeful outlook for life? You are not alone my friend. When your world closes in around you and help is elusive remember the cry of David in Psalm 70. David was crying for God to quickly help and deliver him from his troubles. If we will focus upon God alone for our help we can have our hope in Him and our simple cry for help is all that we need to utter. “Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified.’ But I am afflicted and needy; Hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.” Psalm 70:4,5 Our hope is secure in the faithfulness of God; rest your burdened heart in the hope and help that is found at the cross of Calvary. Continue Reading…
To see justice reign in this world of injustice: Psalm 69
Do you desire to sue for justice amongst all the injustices of life. What are you willing to pay to obtain justice? Who are you willing to destroy and climb over to get what you perceive as justice? What defines justice or injustice? The definition of justice and injustice are subjective through the eyes of men because what one man considers just another will believe to be unjust. How do we reconcile the idea of justice as we are caught in the torrent of this sinful world. ”Save me, O God, for the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God. Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies; What I did not steal, I then have to restore.” Psalm 69:1-4 We need to plead for God to aid us. We need to acknowledge that God is sovereign over all creation and that he will bring all wrong committed to justice. God alone is the author of justice and He knows what is truly just and unjust. Can you trust Him? Continue Reading…
The basis for identity is the foundation of hope: Psalm 65
What is your identity in life? Are you a mother of children, a manager at work, a father striving to make ends meet, a student at school or just another number in a sea of numbers? How we identify ourselves has a great effect upon our outlook on life and the hope we see for tomorrow. Often we define ourselves by the tasks and functions we accomplish on a daily basis but we fail to find our true identity and worth through the blessings God has bestowed upon us. Do you take time to look upon all the blessings that God has bestowed upon your life? Do you see the hand of God at work in your life? Continue Reading…
Get out of your own way and trust God: Psalm 64
The worries that you allow to fester and grow as you sojourn through life will bring despair to your soul. The concerns about people who express a deep hatred towards you will overshadow your joy, fear of people who scheme against you seeking your downfall and demise will rob you of peace and the boastful pride of this wicked world will sap your strength as you wade through the muck and mire of daily life. The wicked people of the world tout their knowledge and pride thinking that they are clever enough to rise above the power of God but hope for the downtrodden is found in God. Continue Reading…
The measure of distance is a view into your heart: Psalm 61
Is there such a thing as distance between God and His people? We equate to God on our human level because it is naturally the easiest way to view a relationship. When you are in Europe and your family is in the United States you feel the distance keenly and long for the fellowship of your loved ones. After a fight with your spouse you can feel extremely distant from them until you seek reconciliation. When you have been on a long road trip and you are heading home over hundreds of miles you will feel the distance pass very slowly as you long for the rest of home. Why do we feel distant to God at different moments in our life? God is omnipresent and He truly is never distant from us. The distance we perceive is a change in our hearts desire and focus but God has not moved away from us. Continue Reading…
Will you indeed take refuge in God: Psalm 60
Words are a mighty way to proclaim who you are to the people around you. You can claim to be a great lover of books but you never read books. You can say that you are an expert photographer but you only use a camera once a year. Do you tell of your renowned cooking but you takeout food more often than you make it. We claim many things by our words but we cannot let our words be the only proof of who we are. Our actions will truly speak of who we are because by doing we show what our heart desires. What does your words proclaim about God? Do your actions affirm the words of your mouth?
Do you ever look upon your situation in life and think that everything is stacked against you? In those moments what are you looking to for hope? The hope you need in every situation in life is found in believing that every situation in life is ordained and allowed by God. You are in your present situation because God has a purpose for you being there. In Psalm 60 David knew that everything that happened to himself and Israel was because of God alone. He was pleading for God to be faithful and bring deliverance in the difficult moments of life. There was no other hope for David other than looking to God alone. “O give us help against the adversary, for deliverance by man is in vain. Through God we shall do valiantly, and it is He who will tread down our adversaries.” Psalm 60:11,12
The watershed of hope is found as you rest in the refuge of God. Trust God to carry you through the difficult moments and you will find a torrent of hope flooding through your life. When you let God, the creator of heaven and earth, carry your burdens of life you will have a renewed outlook. If your words tell of how God is your refuge and help in moments of trouble, will your actions in life show that you cling to God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength? Take time to rest in God consistently and when the troubles of life rise to overtake you a hope and peace will be secured because of your steadfast faith in God’s sovereign provision.
Legacy of remembering our inadequacy and God’s sufficiency: Psalm 59
Do we always remember that God is truly faithful at all times? Are we aware of our inherent inadequacy? The weight of our sinful condition needs to bear down upon reality for us to fall helplessly before God’s mercy. As we see our own inability we will turn to God as our source of strength to make it through life. “Because of his strength I will watch for You, For my God is my stronghold. My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.” Psalm 59:9,10 God will bring us to a place of assured peace and hope. No matter the foe, we need to release the every situation to God and trust in His faithfulness. Continue Reading…
Ultimate source of justice for the downtrodden and oppressed: Psalm 58
Does justice exist today? Can man truly be just in his actions? In Psalm 58 we are given hope to endure this wicked world that appears to lack justice. David speaks to the wicked of this world, “Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men? No in heart you work unrighteousness; on earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.” Psalm 58:1,2 Mankind is cursed by sin and incapable of being just. From birth we are accursed and blinded to the paths of truth and we can only wander in the darkness of our evil deeds. Continue Reading…
