Words of Encouragement

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me. – Psalm 56:3-5

Can God be Trusted? Trust replaces fear. This psalm of David is written regarding the time when the Philistines had seized him in Gath. You can image the fear one would face when being pursued by those that want to destroy you and keep you from reaching what your purpose is? David, however, says when he is afraid he will trust in God.

There are two important things we need to see here. The first thing is we must be real about what it is we are feeling. I have noticed this trend that states Christians should be these really strong people that have no problems (or look like it) and are always “right on”. However, I don’t see it as such. We are not to wallow in our emotions but if you have ever had to deal with an emotional matter you will understand it takes time to gain control of that thing. We are instructed to take captive our emotions and thoughts but it does not say we never have any. So David is acknowledging first his humanness. He states when I am afraid…what he does next is determine what he will do with that fear.

We also have the opposite side of what I mentioned about Christians, and that is the belief that because you are feeling hurt, or mistreated you have a right to allow your emotions to run rampant and others should simply understand. This is not an option either. When one has been hurt or mistreated those emotions are real and must be dealt with. No one is asking that they be ignored. However, we still must take control of those emotions otherwise they begin to exalt themselves above God. So David makes the decision to turn his fear over to God. He does this when he decides to trust him. He simply states it, I’m afraid, I’ll trust. As he goes further he also begins to think about what that trust entails. If I trust in God, what can man do to we anyway? Or stated differently, what can man do to me that God doesn’t allow or that God doesn’t have enough strength to overcome? He says there are those that are always plotting against him and twisting his words and we can amen that from some of our own experiences.

Yet, we must do as David did and make the decision to trust God instead of completely focusing on our problems. This becomes a faith issue. To trust in God requires us to make a decision to believe what he says is true. It is more important than simply acknowledging that God exist (he already knows that), it is what makes the relationship between man and God. We can trust him for more than where he has taken us, but also for where he is leading us.

Today I pray for us as we step forward in what God has for us. I add (and hope he doesn’t mind) a special praise of rejoicing for one of our brothers, Rev. Kevin Earley, as he has just become Dr. Kevin Earley (he just finished his Doctoral Degree at Anderson University, I believe, sorry if I’ve got it wrong). This just shows us what trust can accomplish. So when we go to worship this Sunday, let us go rejoicing and knowing that God has a path and a purpose for each of us and we can do as David (Kevin) did and determine to trust him, even when fears try to come and stop us.

Words of Encouragement

my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. – Psalm 13:4-6

Can God be Trusted? His unfailing love. This is not a long psalm. In fact, it only has six verses. This psalm of David starts differently than the one yesterday. The one yesterday started off with praise. This one starts with the psalmist asking, how long will you forget about me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts, have sorrow in my heart and be defeated by my enemy?

Does the psalmist lack faith in God? Some of us would say yes it shows a lack of faith. However, I would like for us to look at it a little differently for a moment. We read of the psalmist yesterday rejoicing even though there was trouble and now in this psalm we see the psalmist troubled and questioning when will this suffering cease? What it shows us is ourselves. There are days when we are confident in what God can do and we start off in praise even though our situations are nothing to shout about. Then there are days when the pressures of life have weighted us down so much that we simply don’t think we can stand any longer.

This psalm gives us a good example of what we should do when we are having one of those days. It is okay to ask God, when will this end? We can seek God to ask him, will you answer me and we can talk to him about our troubles and how we feel about them. Do you know talking to God about how you are truly feeling is what he wants? He doesn’t expect us to come to him with a false joyfulness, because if we do, how can we receive his true joy? He does not expect us to come to him with a false peace because we then block the door to receive his true peace. Instead, God expects us to come with our raw, transparent emotions and talk to him about them.

The psalmist in these verses says his enemy rejoices over him because he believes he has defeated him. Yet the psalmist makes a great proclamation after listing his woes. He says, BUT. What preceded the “but” was all his concerns and worries, and what came after the “but” was what he was deciding to do about it. See you and I can talk to God about what our concerns are and he want fall off his thrown because we have some issues. However, he does want us to be like the psalmist and say, but in spite of it all, I am going to trust in you. I can trust in you because your love never fails. It will uphold me even in the midst of my situations, circumstances and issues. Your love will give me the strength I need when mine is worthless against what I face. You will give me joy when I can find none inside. You will give me peace that passes all human understanding. Why do you do it? It is because you can be trusted to give us your unfailing love.

Today I pray for us that we talk to the Lord about those things heavy on our heart and know that he has a listening ear. And when we have finished telling him about our problems, let us put a big “BUT” behind our list. So that we can say, but regardless of what I face, I will trust you. I will wait on your unfailing love to sustain me.

Words of Encouragement

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. – Psalm 9:9-11

Can God be Trusted? He never lets you down. This psalm of David starts off with praise. He says I will praise you with all my heart and I will tell of your wonders. He says I will be glad to rejoice in you and sing your praises. The next verses of this psalm tell of the wonder of God in the life of the psalmist. He talks about how God turns his enemy around and keeps him from destruction. This love song, if you will, is one of proclamation of the wonders of what God will do in the life of those that are his.

It we are honest with ourselves (I’m raising my hand), there have been times and experiences that we faced that we were not so quick to come to a place of praise first, but one of fear and complaint. We said we trusted God and that we knew he would take care of us, but something about the situation we were facing, had us doubting, or wavering back and forth on “What is God going to do?”

I want to encourage us with what the writer says in these verses. We are told that the Lord is a refuge (a place of security, shelter, protection, a safe haven, a sanctuary, a retreat and a place of safety). For those that are being oppressed (browbeaten or broken by situations and circumstances and the “ifs” in Life) God is the place of safety. He is the stronghold in those times of trouble. He has you in a vice-like grip that nothing can take you out of his hand. No man, no demons, no circumstances, nothing can take you out of the protective hand of God.

We are also reminded that any that know the name of God and seek him, God will not turn away. It calls for some action on our part. It is not just that I know the name of God, but I must KNOW him in a relationship as I seek his will and his way for my life. And when I have this relationship with him, then I can count on him to take care of me in every situation and circumstance that I face.

I pray for us today. For someone in a situation that seems it will defeat you, I come to remind you that God can be trusted. He will never let you down and he will not let you go. He will uphold you through the situations and circumstances you face. And like David you will have a time to rejoice at what God has done for you. Except, don’t wait until it is done, begin now to rejoice for the victory that God has for you, even if you don’t see it. You can trust that it is coming, because God will not let you down.

Words of Encouragement

That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. – Exodus 14:30-31

Can God be Trusted? Seeing is Believing. The Israelites find themselves being pursued by Pharaoh, 600 of his best chariots, along with the other chariots and the men over them. When the people see Pharaoh and those after them, they become afraid and begin to complain. The Israelites have a flare for the dramatic. They say to Moses, have you brought us out here because there are no graves in Egypt? We told you to leave us alone. Yet they forget Moses was there not by his own choice, but because God had heard their moaning about being rescued. Have you noticed we become whiny when things come against us that we don’t know how to handle or seem too hard? We forget, like the Israelites did that we asked God to come and help us and when he does, we begin to become doubtful if things are not going the way we think.

So Moses tells the people, don’t be afraid, because God is going to take care of us. He tells them to stand still and watch the salvation of the Lord. The scripture shows how God quickly moves this situation. The pillar of smoke moves from in front to behind them, coming between them and the army. It says also that the angel of God moved from in front to the back of them. There was darkness on one side and light on the other, so that they were separated all night long. See God can put a hedge of protection up for that will keep the enemy at bay. So while the enemy is confused on the one side (in darkness), we are able to see clearly on the other (in the light of God).

We know the rest of the story, Moses parts the waters with his rod and God keeps the waters held in place until every one of the Israelites crossed over. Then when the Egyptians were left in the water, confused, the waters were allowed to go back into place and the Egyptians were drowned. I read once were someone stated, it was impossible for the water to be high enough to drown an Army. With that I say, then it really shows how powerful God is, if he can drown an entire army in shallow water!

The Israelites are no different from us today. We know of God’s goodness, but when faced with situations that seem insurmountable, we begin to complain and become doubtful. It was not until they saw, that they believed. It is so wonderful to know that God will at times show us his attributes to help us even in our unbelief and times of weakness. He does not have to do it, but he will do it to help us along the way.

Today I pray for us. If there is any unbelief within our hearts for what God can do, then Lord help us to know you can be trusted. We can trust you because of what you have done in the past and what we can trust you to do in the future. Your love for your children has not changed.