Effective Support In Hard Times

There are some parts of the Bible that I read and it seems like every line has something good to speak to me.  I have that with Psalm 34.  We'll look at a couple of lines from that Psalm now but I encourage you to read the rest of it from your Bible or an app on your device.  Such encouraging reminders.

The Lord is near to those who are brokenhearted and will save those who are crushed in spirit. Great are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 

Psalm 34:18-19

We all experience hard times.  Disappointments come and we are brokenhearted.  Difficulties pile up and seem to crush us.  As followers of Jesus we are not exempt from these kinds of moments. That's what these verses tell us. Great are the troubles of the - who - the righteous - those who are doing what they should and living as they should.

That doesn't sound all that great now does it?  And it wouldn't unless all the other words that surround these words weren't there.

First of all, God is near to us when these disappointments and crushing experiences happen to us.  God sees. God understands. God cares.  That's the first huge help we have that can give us enough calmness of mind to not panic and made stupid choices. God is with us.  The powerful God who made the heavens and the earth is personally attentive to what is going on with us.

But, it doesn't stop there.  God doesn't just know about it all, God save us from what is going on in us and brings us out to the other side of our troubles -- all of them. Look at those words again, "Great are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all."

What does that look like?  There's another sentence from God's Word that helps me with this.

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13

When we are tempted to give in to pressure and fear we need to remember that God is faithful and He will not let the circumstances become more than we can handle.  He will show us a way through.

And so Loving God, that’s simply what we want to pray back to You today with trust and thanks.   No matter how many troubles we face today we are glad You are with us, like really present to us and with us, and You will show us a way out of what we are facing. You will save us from the pressures and even the overwhelming forces that seem way beyond our means to face.

Thank You for Your promises to us today, and Your presence with us in it all.  Amen

Let’s live in the security of God’s saving help for us with whatever challenges we face today.