March 6, 2021 HELP IS ON THE WAY
2 Thessalonians 1:7 “and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His angles in flaming fire,”
Isaiah 40:28-31, 41:18 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired, His understanding is inscrutable, He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” “I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land fountains of water.”
Most of us, if not all, long for the day when all things will be made right. We are well acquainted with grief, sorrow, disappointment, unfulfilled dreams, political unrest, wars and rumors of wars-and the list goes on. Whether one believes in Jesus are not, all will say ‘amen’ to what He said concerning troubles in John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Even though troubles and trials are a sure thing, we do not have to live in despair, but can experience the peace and even the joy of the Lord in the most difficult times. We can be assured that ultimately, everything will be made right, but in the mean- time, we have to endure with His strength; God does not always give us immediate deliverance from our trials-but sometimes He does. Either He delivers us from our trials, or He sustains us in the trial. Isaiah 46:4. The key point for us is to not focus totally on the trial or the difficulty, but to focus on the facts that God uses the difficulties for our good and that He will rescue us in His own time and in His own way. As a bedrock of our faith, we must have ‘set in stone’ the fact that God is ruling and nothing or no one can hinder His plans and His purposes. God’s plan is the complete redemption of all who believe in Him and at His chosen time, gather all of His followers to be with Him in heaven for all eternity. The trials we face here are not a result of God being out of control or unable to do anything about the trials. Trials are ‘part and parcel’ of life on earth; but that is only one half of the story. We can triumph in trials, we can overcome in the midst of the trials, and we can experience God doing a good work in us as we go through the trials….that is our victory! So, yes-let us own our trials, but know that we serve a God who comforts us and gives us strength, and who has plans for our ultimate deliverance from all trials and troubles!
Isaiah 43:1-3 “Do not be afraid-I will save you. I have called you by name-you are mine. When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel, who saves you.”
Blessings,
Buddy