Tag: set our hope

84. We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself

Judges 2:22   When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace.

Genesis 22:14    So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

Deuteronomy 32:36     For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.

Exodus 17:15    And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner,

Jeremiah 23:6     In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

John 1:14    And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Psalms 22:4-5     In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.  To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

2 Corinthians 1:8-10    For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

I am not sure who wrote this but there is truth in it; “God, in the greatest difficulties, when all human assistance is vain, will make a suitable provision for the deliverance of those who trust in Him.” 

Many times we need to be at the end of ourselves before we turn it over to Jesus – before we fully trust in His sovereign power and control.  I wonder if we are just wired to go in our own strength fighting the burden and clawing trying to get over the hurdle until we realize it is futile and not within our strength, power, or wisdom to succeed.  We try and try and try but until we get to the place (sooner is better) where we place it in the hands of Jesus with full reliance and trust in Him will we see a peaceful end to it. 

Recognize early, what burden it is that you are fighting in and on your own power and turn it over to Jesus.    Learn to wait on the Lord and in all things honor and glorify Him.

You will seek me and find me

Psalms 107:4  Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;  hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

 Deuteronomy 8:15    who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,

 Deuteronomy 32:10     “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

 Ezekiel 34:12     As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

 Numbers 14:33    And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.

 Judges 15:18-19     And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the LORD and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”  And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day.

 Lamentations 2:19     “Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.”

 2 Corinthians 12:8-10    Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 Jeremiah 29:12-14     Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

 2 Corinthians 1:8-10    For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

There is no changing in God.  He remains the same, creator, mighty, awesome in power, steadfast love, grace, mercy, and long-suffering toward His creation, mankind.  Life would tell us there is little that changes for mankind as our nature would experience – pleasure, pain, purpose, satisfaction, toil, trouble, sickness, death, life, joy, anger, pride, humbleness, laughter, bitterness, praise, judgmental, forgiving, and crying.   We try to find much of our way in this life apart from God.  Apart from trusting in, relying on, clinging to, and giving thanks to Him.  Even when we think we are walking each day with Him, we limit what we think He can do.  Scripture has been given to us so that we might know Him more, understand Him more, love Him more, rely on Him more, trust in Him more, run to Him faster, listen to His quiet whispers of guidance more, seek Him more, and believe in Him more.  He never changes.  He is the same today and forever.  Spend time in His word. Seek Him and you will find Him.  Sometimes we need someone to just encourage us to run to Him.  It seems so obvious but many times it is the last thing we do.

Call and I will answer

Psalms 91:14  “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.  When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Romans 8:28     And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

James 1:12     Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

James 2:5    Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

Galatians 4:9     But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

John 12:43     for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Jeremiah 33:3     Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Isaiah 58:9    Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

Acts 18:9     And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent  for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

John 12:26     If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

2 Corinthians 1:9     Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

“When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him,” “Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;”  “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” We have great promises from God.  Call to Me and I will answer is one not to forget.   Sometimes all we want is an answer, to know that God will respond means we can wait in peace for His reply.  Waiting in perfect peace is an attribute grown in faith, through trust, reliance, hope, and understanding knowledge of God.  Being in the presence of God, through faith, will eliminate anxiousness as we await God’s perfect response.

Walk in the Light

“let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins”

Psalms 56:13  For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

Psalms 86:12  I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forevever.  For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Psalms 116:8   For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;

2 Corinthians 1:10    He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

1 Thessalonians 1:10   and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Psalms 17:5    My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

Psalms 94:18    When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

1 Samuel 2:9  “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.

Psalms 116:9    I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

Genesis 17:1   When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,

Isaiah 38:3    and said, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

John 8:12   Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 12:35  So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

Ephesians 5:8  for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light  (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),  and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.  Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead exposed.  For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.  But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,  for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

This chapter in Psalms speaks of those who walked in a way that demonstrated their whole heart wanting to please God in all they thought, did, and said.  Ephesians brings us into remembrance of when our heart was enlightened. “for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light  (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),  and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”  Yes, in the past we did live in darkness and walked a path that was apart from God.  But we are to now walk in a way that is good, right and true continually discerning what is pleasing to God.  How do we know what is good, right and true?  How do we discern what is pleasing to Him?  I fear we allow the culture we live in to dictate what is good, right, and true.  I fear we do not give thought to the love God demonstrated for us through redemption in and through His son. Can you imagine what it would feel like to give your son’s life for the redemption of another and in addition to this grace you also write a book filled with knowledge about you, your statutes, your commandments, you promises, your warnings and the person you redeemed has now lasting thankfulness for what you have done. I fear we neglect God’s word.  We don’t spend time in it.  We don’t think about it so how can it speak into our heart, mind and soul.  We don’t have anything to apply into our lives because of this neglect.  We are lukewarm at best.  We convince ourselves that we are better than most, give when we can, read His word when we have time, and believe in Him.  We need to be careful with this thinking.  Even Satan believes.  Belief is nothing without faith.  Faith is nothing without action.  Action means nothing if it is not with discernment and according to God’s word.  Scripture is clear that we are to live in light of His word, meditate on it, seek His word and act on it.  We do this because it honors and glorifies God.  We do it because of who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised.  There is nothing done in secret.  God knows all the thoughts and actions of every single person.  We fall into satan’s trap of being good enough rather than being all we can in Him.  Do you want to glorify God – spend time in His word with a prayer request of Him leading you on a path that glorifies Him.  I recently was told of a friend who found out he has a serious medical issue for which there is little that can be done.  His time will end far to early.  Yet what he realizes now is all the time he spent on things that don’t amount to much at all.  He has many regrets.  We never know when our time will end and we enter eternity.  Don’t allow one more day to go by being fooled into thinking you can serve God lukewarm.  This is not serving Him it is only leading you down a path further from God.  Choose now to commit to being in His word, humbly serving, following and obeying Him.  When tears come it will be for the reason of joy meeting God rather than of regret.