When I saw Him, I fell at His
feet as dead. —Revelation 1:17
{CHAMBERS} “[…] Whenever His hand is laid upon you, it gives
inexpressible peace and comfort, and the sense that “underneath are the
everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27), full of support, provision, comfort, and
strength. And once His touch comes, nothing at all can throw you into fear
again. In the midst of all His ascended glory, the Lord Jesus comes to speak to
an insignificant disciple, saying, “Do not be afraid” (Revelation 1:17). His
tenderness is inexpressibly sweet. Do I know Him like that? Take a look at some of the things
that cause despair. There is despair which has no delight, no limits
whatsoever, and no hope of anything brighter. But the delight of despair comes
when “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells…” (Romans
7:18). I delight in knowing that there is something in me which must fall
prostrate before God when He reveals Himself to me, and also in knowing that if
I am ever to be raised up it must be by the hand of God. God can do nothing for
me until I recognize the limits of what is humanly possible, allowing Him to do
the impossible.”
{ELGIN} Often times, I think,
that in times of trouble, we keep eyes on the trouble and not on God – our Deliverer. Do you trust God enough to turn your back on
the trouble and look fully in the face of God?
Do you believe that God will sustain you or do you merely hope that He
will. When the three young men were
facing the fiery furnace because they refused to bend their knees to a statue
of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3)
they had confidence in God … but even if the outcome was not to their favor,
they would not lose confidence or give up their faith in God. As you know, there was a fourth man in the
furnace (like the Son of man) and the men were spared from death. All of us face difficult trials in our lives …
perhaps not a fiery furnace … but certainly we feel the “heat” of many
difficulties. We can become anxious,
fearful. We may feel panic or
dread. Our problem overwhelms us. We see nothing else. We are aware of nothing else. (Philippians
4:5-7) “The Lord is at hand; do not
be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
If you trust in yourself more
than God you will always look at what you can do in the midst of trouble. Very often the problem is more that you can overcome. Trust God.
My grandmother’s favorite psalm was Psalm
121 “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help
comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be
moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will
neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on
your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The
Lord will keep you from all evil; he
will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from
this time forth and forevermore.”
What difficulties are you
faced with today? Look to the hills!
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