Isaiah 43:1-2

And now, thus says the Lord God who made you, O Jacob, and who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I redeemed you. I called you by your name, for you are Mine. If you pass through water, I am with you; and the rivers shall not overflow you. If you pass through fire, you shall not be burned up, nor shall the flame consume you.”

Encouraging Words…

God’s promises are eternal. We, His people, are in good hands at all times. He has redeemed us, His precious offspring of Jacob, His Israel, and will never let us go nor let us be harmed. What more is needed to push through each trial and tribulation?

Psalm 31:23-24 (30:24-25 LXX)

Love the Lord, all you His saints,
For the Lord seeks out truth,
And He repays those who act with great arrogance.
Be courageous, and let your heart be strengthened,
All who hope in the Lord.

Encouraging Words…

Our Lord will strengthen the hearts of those who hope in Him. He deserves our worship. He deserves our submission. He deserves our all because we receive our all from Him. He is the God of truth and knows our every action, thought, and desire…and yet He still loves us. How can we do anything but fall on our faces before Him in humble worship?

Nahum 1:7

The Lord is merciful to those who wait on Him in the day of affliction, and He knows those who reverence Him.

Command with a Promise…

If we can wait on our Lord and His timing in the midst of our affliction, if we reverence Him while we are waiting, He will be merciful to us in this situation. Isn’t waiting like this the ultimate act of humility? Submitting ourselves entirely to Him, to His timing, and to His solution to our affliction. This type of submission can only come from completely humbling ourselves and allowing God, better yet trusting God, to do the correct thing in the affliction. Aren’t these the mercies that we receive in this case? Glory be to God!

Psalm 113:3 (112:3 LXX)

From the rising of the sun to its setting,
Praise the name of the Lord.

Personal Challenge…

Our spiritual father, the apostle Paul, told us to pray without ceasing. Our Old Testament fathers told us to be constantly studying the law. How do we do this in this modern, time-consuming world? One way is to do what we are taught in the Orthodox church…pray the Jesus prayer regularly until it becomes as our very breath.

Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

We can do this as an exercise of discipline, with prayer beads or a prayer rope as an aid, or through meditation. It doesn’t matter what practice we use as long as we get to a place where every breath, every thought, every beat of the heart, is bathed in Jesus Christ and focused on praising Him. Oh…I have so far to go on this.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Encouraging Words…

What a combination of contrasts: blessings, mercies, and comfort versus tribulation and trial. Life in this fallen world is not easy. There is brokenness, loneliness, loss, and pain. Each of us has our own and different cross to bear. And this is where this passage becomes so powerful. As we go through our tribulations and trials God is there comforting and blessing us. It might be in a word spoken to us by someone we love or a total stranger. It might be in a random act of kindness sent our way. But often, for those of us who have given our lives to Christ, it will be from God’s hand of mercy working in our lives. But it doesn’t stop there. We are expected to use our victory over the tribulations and trials as a means to speak into and apply love to, those around us who are going through similar trials and tribulations. If is a form of “pay it forward”. Even as I am writing these thoughts down, I, along with my brother and sisters, are walking through the trial of seeing our parents grow old and approach the ends of their lives. I have my Lord to fall back on, but flesh and bone support is needed. I am blessed to have a loving, godly wife who has been through this and is willing to speak into this situation from experience and love. It is my responsibility, and opportunity, to listen because this is God bringing the flesh and bone support into my trial. His expectation of me is that I will do the same with the experiences in my past to those in need around me.

Isaiah 35:10

and those gathered by the Lord shall return and come to Zion with gladness, and with everlasting gladness over their head. For praise and exceeding joy will be on their head, and gladness shall possess them. Pain, sorrow, and sighing fled away.

Encouraging Words…

We were created to walk in unity with God in the Garden of Eden, in paradise. And God, in His infinite wisdom, divine grace, and glorious mystery, created us with free will…the ability to choose Him and pursue righteousness or to reject Him and pursue sin. Throughout His written and spoken Word, throughout history and His interactions with mankind He has continued to draw us back to paradise and an eternity walking with Him. Hallelujah for His Son Jesus who has mad this possible by defeating death and sin and their power over us. We can live in His grace, in His power, and live righteous lives in His kingdom filled with gladness and joy. Glory be to God!

Psalm 40:1-3 (39:2-4 LXX)

I waited patiently for the Lord, and He heeded me;
And He heard my supplication,
And brought me up out of a miserable pit
And from miry clay;
And He established my feet on a rock
And kept straight my steps.
He put a new song in my mouth,
A hymn to our God;
Many will see and be afraid,
And shall hope in the Lord.

Encouraging Words…

I love how the psalmist describes our position as human beings here and God’s response to that. Since we are created in the image of God we are not totally depraved or dung as some teachings purport. We are God’s creation, God’s handiwork, stuck in the mire and filth of the fallen world. As I have had it explained to me by my spiritual father, we are diamonds covered in mud and garbage, but nonetheless, diamonds. When we call out to God He rescues us from the mud pit, cleans us off, and begins the process of chipping off the rough spots and shaping us into a shiny, pure, and precious diamond. He fills us with a new song and a new hear that calls out to Him and magnifies His glory.

Ezekiel 36:25-27

I shall sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed from all your uncleanness, and I will also cleanse you from all your idols. I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I shall take the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I shall put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My requirements, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Encouraging Words…

Once again we are reminded that our God is not passive in His relationship with us. He expects us to repent of our sins and to be renewed through the work of His Son. But it doesn’t stop there. He promises to pour out His Holy Spirit upon us, to create a new heart within us, to cleanse us from our uncleanness and idolatry. Our relationship with Him is two-sided and from that necessitates our action in the relationship as well. Glory be to God!

Joshua 1:6-9

“Be strong and courageous, for you will divide this land which I swore to your fathers to give them. Be strong, therefore, and courageous to guard yourself and to do as Moses My servant commanded you; then you will not turn away from them, to the right nor to the left. In this way, you will have understanding in whatever you do. The book of this law shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may have the understanding to do all the things written therein. Then you will both prosper, make your ways prosperous, and have understanding. Behold, I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be cowardly or fearful, for the Lord your God is with you in all things, wherever you go.”

Encouraging Words…

Just as Joshua was given these encouraging words as he was about to enter into the promised land so are we as we enter into the kingdom of God that has arrived. We have the Holy Spirit so we can be strong and courageous. Jesus has broken the grip that death and sin had on us so we can be strong and courageous. The choice is ours, to worry and to fear, therefore thwarting the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, or to move forward with strength and courage under the wings of our Lord.