Why are you cast down, O my soul? And [why] are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him [For] the help of His countenance.
[Psa 42:5 NKJV]
King David had many ups and downs in his lifetime and during his reign. Yet, he never gave up and stopped praising God. He knew God was his help and only hope.
At this time in our nation, and in our daily lives, for those who truly know God’s word and understand what is happening, it is easy to get downcast. We have been told to stay away from each other. We’ve been told we aren’t important. We see many struggling and losing everything.
Now is the time, like no other, to follow King David’s example. We praise the King! We lift His name.
It is so easy to only praise the Lord in good times. However, it is also easy to get comfortable and lazy when our lives are prospering. God wants our love at all times, good and bad. When He allows us to be put into difficult situations He is giving us the opportunity to grow in our faith in Him.
Will we fall away and feel forgotten? Will we give up and turn to worldly things to help us?
OR
Will we look up, realize God is still in control, and praise God through the trials?
God allows us to go through trials for a reason. We don’t always know the exact purpose, but we can know that it is to strengthen us in Him.
And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift [you] as wheat. “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to [Me], strengthen your brethren.”
[Luk 22:31-32 NKJV]
Some trials may be personal and others may be nationwide. Some trials come because we have fallen away and God is done being merciful, sometimes for a time and sometimes permanently. All we need to is look at the history of Nineveh and Sodom and Gomorrah to help us understand why we might be in a trial.
Nineveh and Sodom and Gomorrah were very sinful cities. They were full of wickedness. Nineveh was prophesied to by Jonah that they were going to be overthrown due to their evil. The message was received and they repented. Thus, Nineveh was spared.
Who can tell [if] God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
[Jon 3:9-10 NKJV]
Abraham was the intercessor for Sodom and Gomorrah. He repeatedly asked God if He would really destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if He found any righteous among the wicked.
And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
[Gen 18:23 NKJV]
Sadly, God found none righteous and, after rescuing Lot and his family, completely destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
How do Nineveh and Sodom and Gomorrah relate to trials? God can use trials to bring nations back to Him. He can also use trials to separate those who truly love Him and follow His word from those who choose to follow the world. How did those nations, and people, undergo trials? Nineveh’s king had the nation fast and pray for 40 days to repent. As for Sodom and Gomorrah, we can only guess the trials that Lot was put through, being the only righteous one. We do know he was threatened at his home by the wicked. [Gen 19:5] Maybe similar to what the church in America is experiencing now.
As firm believers in Christ, we keep our focus on Christ. We continue to share God’s truth and light. We praise Him, we lift His name, during these trials and are comforted in the knowledge that He overcomes.
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle [you].
[1Pe 5:10 NKJV]
Dear Jesus:
Lord, we lift your name on high. We exalt you. We praise you during good times and bad. During times of suffering we know we can turn to you. You are always there. As King David when he had to flee from his son, who knew his help came from you. When he sang “LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many [are] they who rise up against me. Many [are] they who say of me, “[There is] no help for him in God.” Selah But You, O LORD, [are] a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. [Psa 3:1-3 NKJV] Help us praise you, Lord in these troubling times. Give us wisdom and discernment to understand the events around us. Help us stay focused on you and your glory. For you are our strength and song. Your are our salvation. We will continually praise your name.
In Jesus Name, Amen.
LORD [is] my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He [is] my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
[Exo 15:2 NKJV]
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Prayer Day 15: Back to Basics