Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Our Response in Times of Trouble


Psalm 22:22-31

English Standard Version (ESV)

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
    the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
    but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted[a] shall eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
    and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
    and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
    even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
    it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
    that he has done it.


 

Although trouble, conflict, pain, and agony may all come upon us there is only one thing that we should do and that is praise the Lord in the midst of the people.  Times of trouble are so very hard to go through.  All of us have had something go on in our lives that brought tears to not only our eyes but our hearts. Sometimes it seems that our heart has been torn right out of our chests.  It may be from the loss of a loved one, old or young.  It could be from the breakup of a girlfriend or boyfriend.  It could be from an illness put on us or one we love.  Some seem more tragic than others but in reality if we are hurting it is still a hurt.  It may be the difference between a scrapped knee and a broken bone.  One takes more time to heal but they both hurt.  In those situations we need to praise the Lord.  We need to resist satan’s attack on us and remember our creator, the ruler of the universe.

 

 

Tough times will certainly leave us.  There will be more joyous times ahead.  The most joyous time will be when our Lord and Savior returns.  Everyone will bow down to Him but the questions will be, “Did you praise Him in times of trouble?”  “Did you tell your brothers about His mighty works?”   Will you be eternally with Him because of your devotion to Him or will you be separated eternally from Him?

 

We may not be able to turn on the happy switch on every time we face trials and tribulations but one thing we can do is give praise to our Lord for enduring the tribulations He faced on the cross by taking on our sin.

 

As you seek Him, remember that He is the One that deserves praise both during our good days and during our trials.

 

Seeking Him with all my heart,

 

Sheila

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