I praise and glorify You, My Strong Defender, for in the midst of my calamities and distress You have heard my cries and come to my rescue. Though troubles and heartache have tried to drown me in sorrow, You have been there to hold my hand and speak words of comfort. I was surrounded by darkness and You brought in light so I could see my way forward. I felt threatened and became fearful. I sought the mountaintop to escape my troubles but all I felt was the sinking feeling of quicksand pulling me down. But, You extended Your hand to me and lifted me out of the mire created by my poor decisions. When I could go no further, I remembered Your promise to deliver me so I cried out in prayer and You heard from Your Holy Temple. When the waves of disaster flooded the boat of my life with hopelessness and distress, I rejoiced in seeing You walk on the water to save me.
I gladly give praise to You for Your faithfulness in keeping me from drowning in the sea of troubles. I am always relieved when I find You are available to help me deal with them. I rejoice in the fact that I can call out to You anywhere and at any time and You will hear me. I take comfort in the fact that my sins can never be too great or my predicament so difficult that You cannot rescue me from their grasp. Help me never take You for granted when things are going well. I need to remain close to You so I can draw from Your wisdom and strength in order to be equipped to deal with the tough and demanding times that await me. Help me reject the false truths and empty promises of the world that try to replace my reliance on You. I must remain appreciative of Your help when adversity comes to shred my life. My faith must never waver in the sight of what seems impossible to me.
As Your child, I can never forget that I am called to be loyal and obedient to You. If I seek solutions that are different from what You are offering, I’m convinced that greater calamities await me. When You ask for my obedience, I should not run away and hide. If I’m not clear on what You want, I must make time for You so that we can clear up what’s confusing me. I am especially grateful for the fact that You always give me another chance to walk in harmony with You. I can never let past mistakes disqualify me from serving You or seeking Your help. I need not get puffed up over my successes because You are the source of every good thing that is produced or done through my efforts. As I keep my eyes fixed on You and remain committed to You in my heart, I know that I can handle any problem that I face. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Romans 8:35/37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.
Thanks for the reminder, Larry concerning our One True Source for directions in our decision making. It would seem we have only begun to face a future on earth that will be more challenging and perplexing than anything we have previously experienced. Your right! At times when we mess up, our tendency sometimes is to hide from God, rather than run to Him in repentance and get back on track! God bless you and Kathy!
One of our difficulties is accepting God’s timing along with recognizing that He has the solution we need. This past weekend in three different studies, the “biography” of Joseph in Genesis came up. God allowed him to suffer some really difficult experiences before reaching a fantastic solution. And his great-grandfather Abraham had some tough times too before Isaac was born. Talk about patience!