When you and I go through difficult times, we may feel God is silent or far. We want God to show up in this big victorious way, but in reality, God often reveals himself to us in the gentle whisper. Carter Conlon reminds us to have reverence that leads to praise, even when we don't see the victory.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
Of all 150 Psalms, Psalm 34 is my absolute favorite. It is all about our Lord’s faithfulness to deliver his children from great trials and crises. David declares, “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears…The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them…The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles… Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:4,7,17,19).
“[God] said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then [Moses] said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here’” (Exodus 33:14-15).
Moses knew it was God’s presence among them that set them apart from all other nations. The same is true of God’s people today. The only thing that sets us apart from nonbelievers is God’s presence “with us,” leading us, guiding us, working his will in and through us. His presence drives out fear and confusion.
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Getting what we want isn’t a common topic among many Jesus followers, but in reality, it has everything to do with God’s character and how we perceive him. Many of us approach the Father as if he only hears prayers for “spiritual” things. But Paul says God’s care covers every aspect of our lives: he will supply your every need.
Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.
“Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down” (Isaiah 24:1, KJV). The prophet Isaiah warns us that in the last days God is going to “turn the world upside down.” According to this prophecy, sudden judgment is coming upon the earth, and it will change everything in a single hour. Within that short span, the whole world will witness fast-falling destruction upon a city and a nation, and the world will never be the same.
We all come across crooked bends in the road, challenges and difficulties that turn our world upside down. They are painful, but not without purpose. In this powerful sermon, Gary Wilkerson reminds us that God has a plan for and wants to use these seasons for our good and his glory.
Stephen Post, professor of bioethics, and Jill Neimark, journalist and former editor for Psychology Today, worked together to create the book Why Good Things Happen to Good People.