God will reach out His hand to help and save you

Psalm 138:7 (NLT)

Though I am surrounded by troubles, You will protect me from the anger of my enemies. You reach out Your hand, and the power of Your right hand saves me. 

Are you surrounded by troubles (Hebrew “tsarah” means trouble, distress, or adversity) as you read these words?  Perhaps a more appropriate question would be, “is there anyone out there who does not feel surrounded by troubles?”  Everyone experiences troubles (note the intentional plural use of this word) almost everyday of their adult lives.  Jesus said that each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34).

The sources of trouble in our everyday life are endless, but the most common troubles seem to be related to one of the following situations---financial, work, family, health, legal, relationships, and loss.  Troubles are manifested through emotions of fear, anxiety, depression, illness, shame, and worthlessness.

David wrote this verse.  He says that he is surrounded by troubles that we know to be true from what the Bible writes about him in I and II Samuel.  He had all kinds of enemies and adversities in his life, yet he writes that the Lord will protect him from the anger of those enemies who want to kill him.  The use of the phrase “Your right hand” is used in one of my favorite verses, Isaiah 41:10 that also speaks of God’s protection against whatever or whoever brings fear to your life.  God’s right hand is also described in Exodus 15:6 and Psalms 89:13, 98:1, and 118:15-16.

Try to capture the imagery of almighty God reaching out His right hand to save you.  David emphasizes that God will protect him and it is the power of God’s right hand that will save him.  Believe that this verse applies to you as well.  Indeed, it is true what J. Hudson Taylor once said, “Difficulties provide a platform on which the Lord can display His power”. 

Here is an appropriate poem by Annie Johnson Flint[1] that supplements the truth of Psalm 138:7.  Read it, meditate on it, pray from it, and see the ways that the Lord will fulfill His promise to help, protect, and save you from your troubles.  Also read Psalm 34:15-18 emphasizing that the Lord delivers the “righteous” (those who trust in the Lord) out of all their troubles.  Amen.

            One day at a time with its failures and fears

            With its hurts and mistakes, with its weakness and tears

            With its portion of pain and its burdens of care;

            One day at a time we must meet and must bear.

            One day at a time—but the day is so long,

            And the heart is not brave and the soul is not strong.

            O Thou pitiful Christ, be Thou near all the way;

            Give courage and patience and strength for the day.

            Swift cometh His answer, so clear and so sweet,

            “Yea, I will be with thee, thy troubles to meet;

            I will not forget thee, nor fail thee, nor grieve;

            I will not forsake thee; I never will leave.

            Nor yesterdays load we are called on to bear,

            Nor the morrow’s uncertain and shadowy care;

            Why should we look forward or back with dismay?

            Our needs, as our mercies, are but for the day.

---

[1] http://www.homemakerscorner.com/ajf-oneday.htm

Role of belief in answered prayer

Mark 11:24 (NASB)

Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you. 

Jesus uttered these words two days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem that today we celebrate as Palm Sunday.  Obviously He had little time left with His disciples before He would be led away to be crucified.  One of his final teachings to them was the vital importance and role of faith in their prayer lives.  It is important to be bold in your prayer life (Acts 2:42, 4:24, 12:5, 28:28-31). 

You see most pro golfers standing behind the ball in stillness before addressing and hitting the ball.  What are they doing?  They are imagining the shot that they are about to hit.  It’s the power of the mind over matter.  It is getting the mind and the emotion into the game as much as the body.  Imagination is a very powerful tool.  Have you ever been to Disney’s Epcot theme park in Orlando and visited the Imagination! Pavilion?  The emphasis is to allow your imagination to be free and enable your mind to be as creative as possible.  The more you imagine/envision something happening, the more likely that it actually will.  But, you need the discipline of imagination and the will to follow up on your visions.

Faith to believe that whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive requires imagination.  Just like the imagination of a child who believes that anything can happen, that is the kind of faith Jesus was telling His disciples then and telling you right now that you should have.  In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 18:3 that you need to convert and become like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven.   

Think about it, faith requires imagination although imagination is not faith.  Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).  To have faith that God answers prayer, that you are destined to live forever in heaven, that God loves and cares for you, does that faith not require your imagination.  You cannot see these things of faith, but you can imagine them.

Some days you will have strong imagination to believe; other days your imagination might be weaker, but that does is not the same as having strong or weak faith.  Ron Rolheisser (http://www.jknirp.com/acrisis.htm) wrote about J. R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings, being a key person to help C.S. Lewis accept Christianity. After listening to Lewis object to certain aspects of the faith, Tolkien suggested to him that his resistance was not so much a question of belief as it was of imagination: "Your inability to understand stems from a failure of imagination on your part."

You cannot “out-imagine” what God can do when you pray within His will.  Just read Ephesians 3:20 where the word for “think” can be translated as “imagine”.  You cannot put boundaries on God so you cannot falsely think that God is incapable of answering any prayer you ask.  You simply must believe that He can answer and He will although often we do not understand His answer if the answer is not what you were hoping for.

What are you praying and asking about right now?  Do you truly believe that you will receive what you are asking for?  Be sure that your prayers have the right motives (James 4:3).  Be sure that you have asked for your sins to be forgiven and that you harbor no wickedness in your heart (Psalm 66:18).  If you are a married man, be sure that you are treating your wife with honor (I Peter 3:7).  Imagine your prayers being answered.  Even pray for the Lord to strengthen your faith to believe (Mark 9:24) in this promise of Jesus that He will answer your prayers. 

“Don't think God is listening to your prayers? Indeed He is. But He may have higher plans. -- Max Lucado

“I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed.” — Unknown

The Lord's many promises

Psalm 145:18-20 (NASB)

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.  He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him.  He will also hear their cry and will save them.  The LORD keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. 

Note all the promises in this passage.  The Lord is near, the Lord will fulfill your desires, the Lord will hear your cries, the Lord will save you, the Lord will keep you and the Lord will destroy the wicked.  At least six promises in these three verses.  Let’s look at them more deeply.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth

When you call upon the Lord, you are demonstrating the act of faith and He responds to those who show faith.  I believe that the phrase “call upon Him in truth” refers to an act of faith based on what you read in your Bible since the Bible is truth (John 17:17) and calling in the name of Jesus since He is the truth (John 1:14, 14:6)

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him

To fear God is to reverence Him, to have utmost respect for Him and it shows by the way you think, speak, and act.  Read Psalm 25:12-15 that is a beautiful description of who is the man who fears the Lord.  Read Psalm 37:4 that describes desires of the heart fulfilled. 

He will hear their cry

Here is one of many promises in Scripture that God hears you whenever you cry out to him.  The Old Testament is full of stories of how God heard and answered the cries of His people.  God will hear the cries of His children as long as you are in reverence to Him.  However, He will not hear your cries if you regard (treasure) wickedness in your heart (Psalm 66:18)

He will save them

The Hebrew word used for save means to deliver, to rescue, to give victory.  Claim His promise to help you in this way as long as you remain faithful to Him and give him your utmost respect and honor. 

He will keep you

This promise reminds me of the promise of Jesus in John 10:27-29 that no one can snatch the sheep of God out of the Father’s hand.  He will never leave you or forsake you as His follower (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 12:5). 

All the wicked He will destroy

Wicked people are those in God’s sight who are guilty of sin and have not been forgiven.  All Christians are forgiven so you can never be destroyed.  All others cannot be assured of this.  God is a loving Father, but He is also a just Lord who clearly states in His Word many times that the wicked will be destroyed.  Do a Bible study yourself and find all the passages that teach this.  But, realize that those who seek the Lord will find Him and never be viewed as wicked by Him, regardless of your sins, because you have the Spirit of Christ within you and that is whom God sees in you.  

Which of these promises strikes you the most right now?  Why?  What action(s) will you take as a result?  

Pinnacle of faith

Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NIRV)

The fig trees might not bud. The vines might not produce any grapes. The olive crop might fail. The fields might not produce any food. There might not be any sheep in the pens. There might not be any cattle in the barns. But I will still be glad because of what the Lord has done. God my Savior fills me with joy.

The book of Habakkuk explores the question of why and whether God permits evil to exist unpunished.  Just like in our day, Habakkuk was seeing evil people flourish and questioned God’s justice.  Basically, in chapter 1, Habakkuk was complaining to God.  God’s answers to these complaints are given in chapters 2 and 3.    

In Habakkuk 3:12-15 God’s cataclysmic judgments are described.  Habukkuk, in verses 16-17, shares his understanding of the meaning of God’s judgment. Such judgment means famine (fig trees, vines, olive crop, fields are all unproductive) and death (no sheep or cattle).  In recent past, and, for many, current economic crisis, many people might easily identify with Habakkuk’s observation of limited, failing, and loss of resources.    

However, in verse 18, Habakkuk reached a pinnacle of faith.  Regardless of what might happen, regardless that he himself might be part of God’s coming judgment, he will express his gladness because of what the Lord has done.  No matter the circumstances he will rejoice, realizing that the joy he experiences comes from the Lord.

Note in this ancient passage that gladness and joy originate from the Lord.  Joy is true happiness. Human happiness depends on the “happening” and often what is happening in our lives is not joyful.  Many times in Scripture joy is used in the midst of difficulties we all experience because joy is the foundation for finding peace and contentment even in difficult times.  Biblical joy is peace of heart and mind that that comes from complete trust that God through Christ is in control of all circumstances, regardless how troublesome they might be, and will not leave nor forsake you.

Are you in a situation like Habakkuk where you see so much evil and don’t have the proper perspective like God would have?  Are you a complainer and, as such, tend to forget the grace and joy of the Lord?  Despite whatever negatives might be happening in your life, can you find a way, with the Lord’s help, to be glad and to be filled with joy? Spend some time reading and meditating not only on Habukkuk 3:17-19, but also other passages such as Psalm 23, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 40:10 and 40:31, and Philippians 4:1-13.