By Marni Montanez
Psalm 138:7 New King James Version
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
Sometimes when we go through major challenges we feel wiped out and unable to move forward; especially if these challenges go on for an extended length of time. Our strength and our will become vulnerable and we don’t have what it takes to continue moving ahead.
Trouble can bring us down, only if we let it. Trouble is also the pruning we need to cut away the heavy weights we are choosing to carry…..but again, only if we let it.
It is something that can come from every direction and can oppress and worry the one who is in the midst of it. Trouble is a word that encompasses many kinds of hardships or problems. It can be small and still change the dynamics of a situation.
The Psalmist understands that it is inevitable for trouble to come, but he is also just as convinced that God will show up when trouble comes and will give strength, energy and ability to press forward through the trouble.
David had encountered many conflicts, persecution and trouble in his life and God remained the same through it all. Even when it was David who was betraying God with his sin, he found that God was still faithful.
David knew that beyond his own weaknesses and failings, that God would remain faithful.
For us trouble can mean an open door to more fertile ground. Unfortunately, many of us play victim allowing for trouble to become our shackles of destruction, instead of a stairway that leads us into higher places. We have the choice to see the slivers of light in the darkness and glimpses of good in the bad. We don’t have to stay in a place of defeat, but we can use the trouble in our life as a stepping stone that moves us closer to our destiny.
God’s right hand stated in this verse, symbolically reveals a part of His character. His right hand represents His strength and ability. It is this hand or ability that assures us of God’s protection. We can rest in the fact that when the storm winds of trouble blow, God’s right hand will shield us from harm. But he will not shield us from traces of wind that blow away things we don’t need or that hinders us from getting closer to God.
Challenge: Surrender to the troubles that come. Ask God what He is doing in the trouble and choose to appreciate the way trouble can free you from the chains of wrong behavior or attitudes.
God bless
Marni
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The
purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate,
and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through
Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord
require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your
God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or
crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the
standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for
the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not
Christian.