SERVING SIX ONE

There is no better word than God’s Word, and when we praise Him and lift Him up, He lifts us up too!!! The Bible says, “ If God is for us, who can be against us?” When troubles come and there seems no help the Psalmist declares in Psalm 3:3 “But Thou O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory and the lifter of my head.” He is our shield that blocks the fiery darts of the enemy. He is the lifter of our head, the one Who lifts our forlorn faces up to His, looks into our eyes and reassuringly says “everything is going to be OK, because I am with you and I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And in Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and our strength, a VERY present help in trouble.” He is on the job 24/7. He doesn’t leave us when times get tough. When no one else understands, and we can’t even explain how we feel, God is there, always understanding, always ready to hold us, to carry us and to see us through! His peace passes all of our understanding. His loving kindness never ends, and His mercy endures forever!!! What a mighty God we serve!!!

Though we have troubles and the enemy is around us on every side, God does not leave us. He diligently watches over us. His hand is always ready to save those who cry out to Him. There are times when we get discouraged and think that God has left us, but He hasn’t. He never leaves us. All we need to do is call upon the name of the Lord and He will save us.

The Psalmist declared in Psalm 91 that “though a thousand may fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand, it will not come near us” and that He will give His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways; they will bear us up in their hands so we won’t even stump our toe on a rock!

God cares about you! He wants to bless you. He wants to take care of your every need. Just ask Him. Jesus declared that many times we do not have what we need simply because we did not ask. So ask, and believe and then you will receive.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Psalm 3:5
If you will only trust God and not rely on your own knowledge and limited understanding, and then acknowledge Him by talking to Him, spending time with Him, and including Him in your daily affairs, THEN He will then give you the direction that you need and guide you in the way that you need to go.

So trust Him. He will lift you up!

Psalm 46:1
God is my refuge and my strength, a very present help in trouble.

Oh my goodness how true this verse is and how evident its trueness has been in our lives these past couple of months. God is our refuge– the place that we can go and hide, the place of safety and security when everywhere else feels unsure, the place where we find relief from hurt or pain, the place of comfort and assurance. He is our shelter from the storm.

A storm hit our family on Saturday, January 10, 2009. I was awakened that morning by a phone call I will never forget. It was my dad calling me to tell me the devastating news he had just gotten….my brother was dead. Disbelief, shock, hurt, anger, confusion, pain, panic–all the emotions you wish never to feel, were all there. Swirling together. Clouding my mind. Dulling my senses. Gripping my heart. Distorting my sense of judgment. But in the midst of it all, there was a Presence. God’s presence. Holding me. Lifting me up. Giving me strength to somehow carry on. To get through the next minutes, hours and days that followed. Strength to not only get through my brother’s funeral, but also to speak and sing at it. Strength to be strong for my Mom and Dad. Strength to not only get through but to carry on. God’s strength is amazing.

It is because of that strength that my family and I have been able to go on. Though there are times when my heart literally feels like it will break in two and I am so weak and overcome with emotion that I can hardly stand, God is right there holding me, wrapping His strong, loving arms around me and girding me up. No one can fully understand it unless they have been through it. You just cannot understand how you can face another day, but God gives you what you need, when you need it. And believe me His grace IS sufficient. His love holds your heart.

God feels our pain. He understands. He grieves with us as we grieve, yet when the grief begins to be more than we can handle, He lifts it, giving us strength to carry on. He never leaves us. Never forsakes us. He is a forever friend. Without Him we are nothing and can do nothing. In Him we have all we need.

Indeed, God is our refuge. God is our strength. He will not only see through the valleys you have to go
through, but He will carry through them!