Trust God completely
TRUSTING IN GOD, REGARDLESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES
Psalm 23
1The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
David puts his trust completely on God and God alone. He is completely secure, knowing who God the Father is and in knowing that His promises and word are eternal.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future.
Philippians 1:6
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Hebrews 11:1
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
The above passages do not mean a prosperous life or a life with no strife. It has a much, much greater meaning, that God has began a good work in me, He has chosen me and hence He will complete the good work by making me more and more like Christ each day.
When a tragedy strikes and when your life is in the pits, the world will call you a loser. Friends may desert you. As in Job, even your closest friends who believe in the Lord, may call you a sinner. You may feel all alone. But remember always, God is in control. He knows what you are going through. He sees every tear. God's promises are true and in His word are passages that are applicable to each and every situation of life. He says " I will never leave you nor forsake you". He is always with us. We may not understand the reason for our afflictions, as God says in Isaiah 55:8 "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. Therefore, though we do not understand why bad things sometimes happen to good people, we should not try to understand it, but rather run to the arms of Jesus, seeking solace there and there alone. Again, when we see the prosperity of those living wrong, we are admonished to never ask the question why.
Psalm 37:1
A Psalm of David. Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
Psalm 37:7
Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
Proverbs 23:17
Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.
As I am writing this, I am reminded of a great tennis player, Arthur Ashe. When he found he was afflicted with AIDS, which he had contracted from a blood transfusion done during his heart bypass surgery , he responded saying thus, when God blessed me and gave me so many accolades, I did not ask God "why me?"; How then can I now ask God "why me?', when I have been afflicted. He gladly bore his sickness. His exact quote was, If I were to say, 'God, why me?' about the bad things, then I should have said, 'God, why me?' about the good things that happened in my life- Arthur Ashe.
As Job says " Naked I came from my mother's womb; And naked I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised."
The trust, the faith and the humility of Job speak volumes.
It is easy to sing praises, when my life is in order and I am on the top of the mountain. But it is in the midst of persecution, in the scorching, fiery, fires of life, my true faith and convictions get revealed. When I stay focused on God during those times, I know with all my heart that I will come out stronger in the Lord.
Though I strongly believe everything that I have mentioned above, I will not say there haven't been days when I did not let doubt creep in, frustration get so out of hand, anger control me, bitterness and hatred rule my heart. I sincerely pray that those days are behind me and there will be no more repetitions of those dreadful times of my life. As the Bible states, The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. In my fallen state, though I have been redeemed, I do not know if I will be able to say 100% yes to the spirit and a firm no the fallen flesh. I will try my very best, keeping the scriptures close to my heart and completely relying on God.
“If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.” ― Corrie ten Boom
Psalm 23
1The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.2He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
David puts his trust completely on God and God alone. He is completely secure, knowing who God the Father is and in knowing that His promises and word are eternal.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future.
Philippians 1:6
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Hebrews 11:1
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
The above passages do not mean a prosperous life or a life with no strife. It has a much, much greater meaning, that God has began a good work in me, He has chosen me and hence He will complete the good work by making me more and more like Christ each day.
Jesus says" In this world you will have tribulations, but take heart, I have overcome the world."The psalmist also on psalm 23 says, God takes him through quiet pastures and still waters and in the very next verse, he continues even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death. This passage exactly describes how life is! There are moments of quietness and moments of trials, hardships and troubles. Many a time, the hardships of life seem to outweigh the joyous moments. In the book of Daniel, God was right with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the flaming fires, shielding them and God brought them out of the fire. Likewise, God is right with me in every trial of life that I face, and He is more than able to see me through. He is mighty to save!! What the enemy has intended for evil, God is able to use for my good. The mountain of hardship, the heartache that the enemy throws at me, a tragedy that suddenly strikes, the times when I think I am broken beyond repair, and when I am in that deep pit of depression, it is in that rock bottom, I find God. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He lifts up those crushed in spirit. It brings me close to God and I am reminded that only a house built on that one true Rock-the word of God, the very foundation that is needed for a purposeful life in this fallen world, can truly withstand the trials of this life.
When a tragedy strikes and when your life is in the pits, the world will call you a loser. Friends may desert you. As in Job, even your closest friends who believe in the Lord, may call you a sinner. You may feel all alone. But remember always, God is in control. He knows what you are going through. He sees every tear. God's promises are true and in His word are passages that are applicable to each and every situation of life. He says " I will never leave you nor forsake you". He is always with us. We may not understand the reason for our afflictions, as God says in Isaiah 55:8 "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. Therefore, though we do not understand why bad things sometimes happen to good people, we should not try to understand it, but rather run to the arms of Jesus, seeking solace there and there alone. Again, when we see the prosperity of those living wrong, we are admonished to never ask the question why.
Psalm 37:1
A Psalm of David. Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
Psalm 37:7
Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
Proverbs 23:17
Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.
As I am writing this, I am reminded of a great tennis player, Arthur Ashe. When he found he was afflicted with AIDS, which he had contracted from a blood transfusion done during his heart bypass surgery , he responded saying thus, when God blessed me and gave me so many accolades, I did not ask God "why me?"; How then can I now ask God "why me?', when I have been afflicted. He gladly bore his sickness. His exact quote was, If I were to say, 'God, why me?' about the bad things, then I should have said, 'God, why me?' about the good things that happened in my life- Arthur Ashe.
As Job says " Naked I came from my mother's womb; And naked I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised."
The trust, the faith and the humility of Job speak volumes.
It is easy to sing praises, when my life is in order and I am on the top of the mountain. But it is in the midst of persecution, in the scorching, fiery, fires of life, my true faith and convictions get revealed. When I stay focused on God during those times, I know with all my heart that I will come out stronger in the Lord.
Though I strongly believe everything that I have mentioned above, I will not say there haven't been days when I did not let doubt creep in, frustration get so out of hand, anger control me, bitterness and hatred rule my heart. I sincerely pray that those days are behind me and there will be no more repetitions of those dreadful times of my life. As the Bible states, The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. In my fallen state, though I have been redeemed, I do not know if I will be able to say 100% yes to the spirit and a firm no the fallen flesh. I will try my very best, keeping the scriptures close to my heart and completely relying on God.
“If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.” ― Corrie ten Boom
Comments
Post a Comment