"Trouble And Distress"

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair." 2 Corinthians 4:8 

This verse was written over a thousand years ago, it sounds like it should have been written today: troubled on every side, perplexed. Seems like no matter which direction we turn there is trouble. Seems like the times in which we live are perplexing, who can understand what is going on. 

 

They were troubled on every side. The word troubled here means to be pressed. They were pressed, oppressed, afflicted, persecuted and suffering. They were perplexed. Perplexed means: to be without resources, to be in straits, to be left wanting, to be embarrassed, to be in doubt, not to know which way to turn. But read the verse again. Though they were in troubles on every side, they were not distressed. Though they were perplexed, they were not in despair. 

 

How was that possible? How did they handle what they were going through? "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (Verses 6,7)

 

The answer is "For God". He gave them light in the dark places of suffering. He shined His light in their hearts in times of hopelessness. They had a relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ, the Son. They knew the Lord was with them and in them. They had power in the times of trouble and perplexity, and they knew that the power to stand, to be at peace, to overcome instead of being overcame came from God. 

 

Are you in trouble? Are you being pressed by life? Are you perplexed? You don't have to be distressed by it. You don't have to be in despair because of it. As the Lord gave them all that they needed to walk through these times, He will give it to you also. All that you need- strength, peace, power, wisdom, guidance, healing, provision, grace, help etc.- is available to you. "For God" will give you all you need. He did it for them, He will do it for you.

 

Have a great day. Are you troubled? Are you perplexed? You don't have to be distressed or despair. God will give you everything you need to overcome.

 

For further reading:

2 Corinthians 4

"Omnipresent God"

"Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?" Jeremiah 23:23 

The Lord is a very present help to us in time of trouble. He is not a God that is a far off. He is not far away when we are in need, although He is accused of being so. To those who feel like He has left you, let me ask you a question-- just where would He go seeing He is an Omnipresent God (everywhere at the same time)?

 

There are times when His presence is with us in a special way- a way where we can "feel" it, a way where we "know" He is there. There are times when we feel like we are sitting in His very lap. His presence engulfs us, and His peace overtakes us. But when we don't feel or sense that type of presence, we can rest assured that He is still there. His presence fills the whole of creation. There is no place that He isn't. "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." (Psalm 139:18)

 

Jonah thought he could escape to a place where God could not see him... wrong. God saw him on the ship. God saw him in the belly of the whale. Adam thought he could hide in the garden and God could not find him... wrong. God saw him. He saw him when he ate from the tree. He saw him when he tried to hide. 

 

You cannot get away from God, He is everywhere. That is why He isn't far away when you need Him. Even one of the Hebrew names for God is Jehovah Shammah- meaning God is there. Where is the place called "there". This "there' means He is right there/here where you are. If "there" is "here", then "here" is always "here" no matter where you are. Therefore, God is there with you no matter where you are. 

 

Don't think God is not there. Don't think that He is far away. Don't think that He isn't near. Don't think that He has left. He is right there.

 

Have a great day. God has not left you. He is Omnipresent, where would He go?

 

For further reading:

Psalm 139; 46:1

Genesis 3:10

Jonah 1:10

"Established Heart"

"His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies." Psalm 112:8 

How do we live a life at rest and peace inwardly? How do we resist caving into fear when it comes? The answer is in having an established heart. What is an established heart? It is one that is unmovable and firm. It is firm in its conviction. It is firm in its belief. It is firm in its confidence. When something is "firm", it is unmovable, unshakeable, un wavering- it is solid. So how do we get an established heart? 

 

"Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments." (verse 1) This established heart is the characteristic of a person who fears the Lord and delights in His commandments. It is not something he obtains on his own- through his education, through a strong resolve, through seer determination. No matter how determined you are, no matter how resolved you are, when fearful situations arise your own human strength will fail. It is not strong enough to withstand it on its own. But when we fear the Lord and are established in Him, His strength is made perfect in our weakness. When we fear the Lord, His peace that passes understanding is imparted to us. When we fear the Lord let the enemy come, but we are not afraid because our confidence is in the Lord that He is with us fighting the battle on our behalf.

 

This established confidence of heart only comes to those who fear the Lord. Those that fear Him are those that have surrendered their lives to Him. They are the ones who follow and serve Him. They are the ones who love Him with all their heart, soul, strength and mind. They are those who don't just profess to know Him but truly know Him. 

 

This established heart stays established through God's word (that delighteth greatly in his commandments). When our delight is in the commandments- God's word- and we read it, hide it in our hearts and meditate upon it, we are strengthen in our faith. Our faith becomes unwavering because it is rooted and grounded in God's word and promises which cannot fail. His word gives us a firm foundation upon which we build not only our hope but our lives. His word is like a solid rock- a firm foundation. When we are built upon it, we don't have to fear because our lives will stand firm. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock." (Matthew 7:25)

 

The Lord is our Rock and His word is our Rock. When our lives are built upon Him, our hearts are established. When they are established, we don't have to fear when the rain comes, when the floods come, when the winds blow, when the enemy rises, when the fire threatens, when the lions roar, or when evil approaches.

 

Have a great day. When we fear God and love His word, our hearts will be firm in faith and we don't have to fear whatever comes our way.

 

For further reading:

Psalm 23:4

Philippians 4:7

2 Corinthians 2:9

2 Chronicles 20:15

"The Insignificant"

"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." Matthew 10:30 

The Lord is often accused of not caring. Many question if He is even there and knows what they are going through. It may feel as though He is removed or far away at times, but He isn't- He is right there. He is aware of the situation. He is watching over you. He knows where you are and what you are going through. You and your situation is not hidden from Hm. 

 

He is so aware of you that He even knows the number of hairs on your head. Your hair is made up of enumerable individual hairs. Each one plays a part in making up your "hair". If He numbers the hairs on your head then that means He counts each and every one. It also means that He knows each and every time you lose one and He changes His count. 

 

What is one hair? It is "insignificant". There is no value in a hair. It isn't worth anything. We lose individual hairs all day long and aren't even aware of it. The fact that the Bible tells us that God knows the number of them lets us know that if God cares and is aware of even the most insignificant part of us, then He certainly must care about that which is more significant.

 

The Lord is more aware of when you lose one single hair than you are. He takes time to change His count and renumber them. Can you count the number of hairs on your head? Does just one hair mean that much to you? So, when you start feeling as if He doesn't care and isn't aware, think about the number of hairs on your head, and remember if God cares about even the most insignificant part of you then He cares about what is most significant. 

 

Have a great day. God cares about even the most insignificant thing about you, so therefore, He cares about the significant as well.

 

For further reading:

Luke 12:7

Hebrews 4:13

"Understanding the Bible"

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God..." 2 Timothy 3:16a

A cousin and I were talking the other evening and he made the statement that in all the other religions of the world their "Bible- Sacred Book" isn't hard to understand.  Their followers all get the same meaning and same understanding when they read it.  He said the Christian Bible is hard to understand, it contradicts itself, its followers don't get the same interpretation, and they can't agree on what it means.  Have you ever had anyone say that to you?  I've heard it a lot.  But it isn't true.

On one hand the Bible is not hard to understand.  Its message is so simple that even a child can understand it and respond to it by faith.  On the other hand, it is not easy to understand because the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit because they are spiritually discerned-- the word is spirit and truth.

I told him that I disagreed with what he was saying. This is why.  The principles of the Bible are not hard to understand.  And they are not hard to interpret.  The Ten Commandments are principles of the Bible-- what's so hard to understand about "Thou shalt not kill"; "Thou shalt not steal"; etc.?  The principles of salvation are not hard to understand; the Bible is very plain and clear on the subject... "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  The wages of sin is death.  But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved."  Anyone can understand the principles and it doesn't take a Bible scholar to interpret them.  

The reason there "seems" to be so many different interpretations (why you and I both can read the same verse and get a different meaning) is because the Bible is NOT just black words on white paper.  It's alive; it's a person- (John 1:1,14) "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.  And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory as that of the only begotten of the Father."  Jesus Christ is the Living Word. Therefore, the written word is alive.... it's Christ.  That's why I can read a verse today and get one meaning and read it again tomorrow and get a different meaning.  It's Christ written on paper.  And because it's Him, can we ever fully understand Him?  Doesn't He reveal Himself to us a little at a time.  He is infinite so there is no way that as we read the scriptures we can get all the understanding at once.  It has been said that it will take God an eternity to reveal Himself to us because He is so great.  It's like this... God will "peel back" layers and layers of His divine nature to us as we read His word and commune with Him in His presence.  This is one reason why there are many different interpretations... God may show me something different about who He is as I read it than He shows you as you read it.  I may have needed Him in a different way than you did so He met me where I was at through what He revealed to me.  

Have a great day.  It's not really that hard to understand.