Distress to jubilation!
Verse for Today: Sunday, January 6, 2013
Psalms 18:6 – In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears.
Testimonies of God’s deliverance are comforting which lead us to praise God. Meditating on the way the Lord delivered us from our distress enhances our gratitude to Him. It reinforces our conviction that had it not been for the compassion of our God to hear our prayers and deliver us from our distress, we would have been devastated. It also reminds us of the way of the cross that our Lord leads us to tread. It brings back the story of the distress that we have undergone because of the attacks of the enemy. It is true that when a host of enemies confront us, we would be devastated and distressed and would find the pressures too much to cope with. It pushes us to total helplessness. It corners us into inescapable situations and makes us lose all hope. At such situations, even adults resort to cries of helplessness. David was in such deeply distressing situations many times and reached his wits end. On many occasions, he ran for life and hid himself in forests and caves. But eventually he was able to subdue all his enemies by faith and exhibit tremendous courage and boldness because of the strength he received from the Lord. David never aspired to become a king, and he was quiet satisfied with being an unknown singing shepherd. But God lifted him up from the grazing fields to become the shepherd-king of Israel. When the enemies tried to stop him from becoming king through attacks of various kinds, David was afraid and cried to his Lord aloud. His Lord heard his prayers and cries and delivered him. Today the God of David is with us to deliver us from the attacks we face and give us peace. His ears are open to our cries and His hands of comfort, strength and healing touch us and wipe our tears.
Dear friend, are you in distress and despondency because a host of enemies fight you from all corners? The cunningness and conniving of the enemy was perhaps unknown to you! Perhaps there were plots behind your back! The enemy was probably smiling at you, but at the same time grinding the teeth because of hatred and envy. But your Lord is watching the drama being enacted by the enemy against you and He will guard you from faltering. He will take away your distress and give you peace and rest. His Spirit will build a wall of fire around you so as to dismantle all the arrows sent by the enemy. When you cry out of helplessness, your Lord will hear your voice of weeping and will come down to wipe your tears and comfort you. He will assure you of ultimate victory. These attacks are perhaps permitted by God in your life to teach you greater trust and faith. The warfare that you are involved in is used by God to prove His love and compassion to you. He comes to reassure you that He will never leave you nor forsake you. You will be absolutely safe in His arms. He will not allow any untoward thing to happen to you. Your prayer for safety and deliverance will be answered by the Lord at the right time. He will grant you complete victory in all your situations and circumstances. He will turn your loss into gain and sorrow into joy unspeakable. He will turn your cries into jubilation of victory. Ultimately God will grant you peace, joy and contentment. Today let us look unto the author and finisher of our faith and gain confidence to keep going to accomplish all that God wants through our lives. God will enable and empower us to withstand the pressures, tension and distress that we face today.
Psalms 31:22 – Yet You heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.
Thought for Today
God’s response to meet our needs prove to us that He has heard our cries and supplications.
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