Weekend Words

There seemed to be a theme of  'the blessings of suffering' running through some of my devotionals this week.  May they be a blessing someone. xx   

 From Be Still and Know...

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble - Psalm 46:1

This is a Psalm of comfort and trust for a life lived with trouble.  When problems arise and discouragements come, when there is no human source of help, we have the promise that God is "our refuge," "our strength," and "our help".

Refuge is defined as "shelter from danger or distress."  The Lord Jesus Christ IS our refuge today (present tense).  Hidden in the hollow of His all-mighty hand, we have a shelter that is safe and secure.  This refuge is not a place where we escape from the situations and circumstances of life, but is a protection for us in the midst of them.

Not only is the Lord our refuge in time of trouble, but our strength to endure it.  When we realize our limited strength is not sufficient, we discover He has a never-ending supply of strength on which we can draw.  "And as thy days, so shall they strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25).

He is also our help in trouble.  Whatever our need may be, He wants us to know that, "I AM, right now, this very moment, not only your help in trouble, but a PRESENT help."  It has been said, "It sometimes takes trouble for God to get our attention."

When we become Christians, we often assume our days of trouble are over.  Soon we discover this is not true.  God has a purpose to accomplish through difficulties in our lives.  Some lessons can only be learned through trouble.

We are proved and tested in this way.  "A very present and WELL PROVED HELP in trouble" (Psalm 46:1 Amplified).  "A TESTED help in times of trouble" (LB).  It has been said "Trouble is his vote of confidence in us."

He is a "well-proved help," a "tested help."  Are you testing and proving Him as your own personal refuge, strength, and help in your problems and trials of today?

There is a poem that begins, "He's helping me now, this moment; in ways that I know and know not."  He is our help today, whatever our day.

From Our Daily Bread...

Not for Our Comfort - Read Romans 5:1-11

We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. - Romans 5:3-5

Dan was riding his motorcycle when a car swerved into his lane and pushed him into oncoming traffic.  When he woke up two weeks later in the trauma centre, he was "a mess."  Worst of all, he suffered a spinal cord injury that left him a paraplegic.  Dan prayed for healing, but it never came.  Instead, he believes God has compassionately taught him that "the purpose of this life is that we become conformed to the image of Christ.  Unfortunately that doesn't happen when everything is unicorns and rainbows.  It... happens when life is tough.  When we're forced to rely upon God through prayer just to make it through the day."

The apostle Paul explained two benefits of right standing with God: persevering and rejoicing in suffering (Romans 5:3-5).  These two benefits weren't a call to endure suffering with stoic fortitude or to find pleasure in pain.  It was an invitation to unshakable confidence in God.  Suffering plus Christ cultivates "perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (vv 3-4).  This all flows from a faith that the Father won't abandon us but will walk with us through the fire and into the future.

God meets us in our suffering and helps us grow in Him.  Rather than viewing afflictions as His disfavour, may we look for ways He's using them to sharpen and build our character as we experience His love "poured out into our hearts" (v 5).

- Marvin Williams

From Beside Still Waters...

After His Own Heart - 1 Samuel 13:14

When your faith endures many conflicts and your spirit sinks low, do not condemn yourself.  It was David in haste who said, "I am cut off from before Your eyes" (Psalm 31:22).  Yet David is now in the blessed heavenly choir, for even here on earth he was a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

There is a reason for your season of heaviness.  Great soldiers are not made without war.  Skillful sailors are not trained on the shore.  It appears that if you are to become a great believer, you will be greatly tested.  If you are to be a great helper to others, you must pass through their trials.  If you are to be instructed in the things of the kingdom, you must learn from experience.  The uncut diamond has little brilliance, the unthreshed corn feeds no-one, and the untried believer is of little use or beauty.  There are great benefits to come from your trials and depression.

Many people have a comparatively smooth path through life, but their position is not the equal of the tested believer.  The one who is much plowed and often harrowed will thank God if the result is a larger harvest to the praise and glory of God by Jesus Christ.  If your face is now covered with sorrow, the time will come when you will bless God for that sorrow.  The day will come when you will see great gain from your losses, your crosses, your troubles, and your afflictions.

From all your afflictions His glory shall spring,

And the deeper your sorrows the louder you'll sing.

- Charles Spurgeon