Feb 10 2022

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

This verse affirms that we can turn to the Lord whenever we are in trouble. Even if everything around us falls apart, God will remain our refuge and strength. He will help us even when no one else can. Today, we'll look at what this verse teaches us about leaning on God at all times.

It is important to note that this verse doesn't say we will not face trouble. In fact, it pretty much affirms that we will face difficulties. The Christian life is not a way out of pain, sorrow, or tough situations. Our faith, however, is a guarantee that the Lord will be near us through everything.

When we call out to the Lord, He will be our refuge. This means He will be like a hiding place for us, a place where we are safe and secure. Even if people are trying to hurt us, or spreading lies about us, we can rest knowing that the Lord loves us and knows who we really are. We can have confidence that cannot be shaken by anything in the world because we have put our trust in God, who is not of the world.

The Lord is also our strength. When we've come to the end of ourselves, He gives us the hope to carry on. We know that He sees and will honor our efforts. When we feel ourselves becoming weary, we can ask Him to strengthen us. He knows exactly how to encourage us and the exact right time for that encouragement to come.

He is also our very present help in times of trouble. So when everything has gone haywire and you feel utterly lost, He will be near. He cares about our troubles, and He will come to us in tenderness and kindness to restore our souls.

If you are going through a difficult time, reach out to the Lord. your refuge, strength, and present help and ask Him to encourage you with His faithfulness.

Dear Lord, I thank you for caring about me, especially when I'm in trouble. Sometimes it seems like I'm in trouble a lot, but I am so grateful that you do not get tired of coming to help me. I want to lean on you like never before, Jesus, because you are my salvation. In your name, amen.

Feb 09 2022

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. :

Psalm 34 was written after David made a successful but close escape from an enemy. This psalm thanks God for delivering him. David writes that the Lord is good and that those who trust in Him are blessed. This verse emphasizes that trusting in the Lord is an action; we must intentionally trust in Him to receive His blessings.

But what exactly does it mean to trust in the Lord? I think there are two levels of trust. One is the theoretical, which includes our specific beliefs about God; and the other is the practical, which is how we express that trust in our day-to-day lives.

On a theoretical level, trusting in the Lord means that we believe He is good and faithful in all circumstances. If we're facing a great challenge, our belief in the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord does not change. We can look to the cross, which displayed God's love for us once and for all, and remind ourselves that God is good and faithful, wholly worthy of our trust.

On a practical level, trusting in the Lord is reflected by our thought life and the ways we express our emotions. For example, I recently got frustrated about my laptop messing up. One of the ports was broken and I couldn't get it to charge. This upset me because I had deadlines to meet, and now I'd have to solve my computer problem in order to meet those deadlines. But instead of getting frustrated and letting thoughts of unbelief creep in, such as Why don't you care about my needs, Lord? Why do you let things like this always happen to me? Why can't you be faithful? I could have responded in prayer. I could have thanked the Lord for my ability to work, and trusted that He would make a way for me to get done what I needed to. I should have trusted from the get-go that the Lord would work out the situation for the good. That's what trusting in the Lord looks like—turning our thoughts back to Him, again and again, when our emotions start to undo us.

This takes practice, but eventually it will become a habit for us to turn to the Lord again and again. We will exercise trust as we go to Him with all our thoughts, questions, and concerns and exchange them for rest in Him. This is an intentional decision to turn away from the worries of this world and instead set our eyes on Jesus.

Dear Lord, I trust you. Help me learn to trust you more and more with every passing day. I want to turn to you when things become difficult, and I want to remember to rest in your grace and love always. In Jesus' name, amen.


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