Devotional Christian » Devotion

God Brings Us Out of Our Distresses

Hariette Petersen — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:22:47 +0000

Every day brings another difficulty. Systems that always worked before, fail. People we could depend upon in life, abandon us. All the good we’ve done for others is forgotten. Our very integrity is on the line. We’ve made promises we cannot fulfill. Obligations demand our attention, but we are weary. We cannot see any end to the onslaught of trials. We beat ourselves up for mistakes we made, for decisons that led us to near-ruin. We cry out to God for direction, but feel like we are drowning in a sea of sand with no solid ground to stand upon. Where is God?

“Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:15

Sometimes the distresses in our lives become so monumental that we are smothered by their very shadow. We hurt. We’ve done all the things we believe God wants us to do; we’ve lived a life of integrity and honesty. We’ve given Him access to our lives and used our material things to bring honor and glory to Him. Yet the circumstances of life have beaten us down. We question our every decision; we analyze our motives and intentions. We scrutinize our every move and wonder where we could have done something differently. Where do we go for relief from the distresses the world has brought upon us?

“Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivers them out of their distresses. He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction. Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!” Ps. 107:19-21.

We cannot praise God for His goodness when we question the drought He allows in our lives. We cannot trust God when we rely on ourselves to get us through the desert sands. Our praise is a clarion call. Our praise shows God we rely on Him no matter what befalls us. Our praise lifts our blinded eyes to the hills from whence cometh our help. Our confession of self-reliance, of pride, of anger and bitterness, opens the floodgates of heaven and releases the rain God is ready to pour down upon His devoted ones.

“And let them sacrifice the sacrifice of thanksgiving and rehearse His deeds with shouts of joy and singing!” Ps. 107:22

It is a sacrifice for those broken beneath of load to lift weary heads and weakened arms to the Father for all He is and all He has been. I know. I’ve been there. When we get to the end of our strength, and use what is left to praise the Lord, God meets us and lifts us out of the distresses. He empowers us–refreshes and restores us. When we are grateful for the strength left to praise Him in our darkest hours, He lights a lamp. “Oh, that men would praise the Lord.”

Satisfaction In God

Chris Roberts — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:27:56 +0000

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5

The early church theologian Augustine once wrote, “Thou hast made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in thee.” (Augustine, Confessions) Deuteronomy 6:4-5 tells us what we were created for. We were made for God. We cannot live satisfied lives until we learn to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

We live in a world of distractions. Every day we will engage in a million little things to turn our attention from the gnawing need within our hearts. But when once you turn to the shepherd of your soul, putting aside the glittering things of the world and finding in God your true love and delight, you will never be left wanting.

Turn off the television. Put your iPod on pause. Shut down the computer. Put an end to the endless stream of irrelevant and destructive information. Do not let the world distract you any longer. Close the door, open your Bible, bend your knee in prayer, and let your soul be filled with the One who calls you to himself. The more you grow in your love for him, the more you realize the world has nothing to offer but flies and maggots.

The Mystery of Contentment

John Starke — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:52:40 +0000

The world offers an array of answers for discontentment. Dream big and work harder is one suggestion. Much of our culture looks to soup up our ambition with catchy one-liners or allusions to the perfect life where dreams come true. Another suggestion is to dream smaller and lower your expectations. With lower expectations, you will never be disappointed and will always be content with what you have. Both of these suggestions miss the biblical direction for contentment.

Paul, writing to the Philippians, exhorts them to not be anxious about anything (Phil. 4:6) and gives himself as an example of one who has learned to be content in seasons of plenty and in seasons of need (Phil. 4:11-13). How is he content? Has he learned to desire less and, therefore, be content with less? The answer is no, he is not content with “less.” In truth, Paul’s desires are greater, not lesser. Yet, his desires are not found in his own ambition or efforts for contentment.

Old Puritan pastors called this divine complacency. This is not some eastern practice of ridding ourselves of all desires so that we have no passions or feelings. Rather, it means that you find rest and contentment in God more than any other thing. More than that, nothing in this world can give you rest and contentment except God. Nothing can give you the exhale of relief except the pleasure of God. Jeremiah Burroughs explains divine complacency this way:

Here lies the mystery of Christian contentment, A little in the world will content a Christian for his passage, but all the world, and ten thousand times more, will not content a Christian for his portion.

May we look to the pleasures of God for our contentment. As Paul ends his letter to the Philippians he writes, “And my God will supply every need of yours.” How? By power, ambition, or riches of this world? No. He will supply every need of yours “according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).