YOUR
DIFFICULTIES WILL NOT LAST A MINUTE BEYOND THE DURATION THAT GOD HAS INTENDED
Psalm
31:20-24
21 Blessed
be the Lord,
for
he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when
I was in a besieged city.
22 I
had said in my alarm,
“I
am cut off from your sight.”
But
you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when
I cried to you for help.
23 Love
the Lord, all you his saints!
The Lord preserves
the faithful
but
abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
24 Be
strong, and let your heart take courage,
all
you who wait for the Lord!
David
is certainly an example for us. In this psalm, we have walked along his
difficult journey, have been encouraged by his resolve to trust his God, have been
challenged by the review of the character of his Lord, and encouraged by the
wonderful faithfulness of his Lord.
David’s God is our God! His Lord is
our Lord! We must never fret. There is hope.
The
writer reminds us, in the last verses of this psalm, of both the reality of his
difficulties and the certainty of God’s care in the midst of them.
David
has seen the steadfast, personal love of God and knows that his cries have been
heard.
Are
you struggling through difficulties? Are there some that have been going on for
a long time?
Dear friend, do not lose
sight of two truths.
First, God’s love has never been a conditional
love. God
loves at all times; He always loves perfectly! God’s love is steadfast, and He
always has our best in mind. His love can be neither thwarted nor diminished!
Secondly, He always listens to our
cries! God
is never distracted or overwhelmed by our cries for help. He is always
attentive and is always powerful to provide for our needs.
Do not lose heart, for God is specifically
providential.
Your difficulties will not last a minute beyond the duration that God has
intended, they will never exhaust the grace He will give you to endure them, and
they will always have your good as their goal.
As
David reflected upon these truths, he could only end by encouraging us to
praise our God, to love Him as we should, to be faithful to Him in our walk and
reactions, and to be patient as we wait upon Him.
Be
strong and of good courage, as you trust Him in all of your ways, as God
commanded Joshua:
Joshua
1:7-9
Only be strong and very
courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my
servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the
left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law
shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good
success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do
not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is
with you wherever you go.”
We
should keep in our minds the same commands that were given to Joshua: to be
courageous to stand for truth and to do what is right according to the Word of
God, without allowing enemies or situations to frighten us.
Dear friends, our faithfulness and
service is not in vain.
1
Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be
steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing
that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
As
we deal with our difficulties and encourage others in theirs, we must never
forget that we are loved and protected by our God, Who loved us enough to send
His precious Son to die for us, so that we could have eternal life. We are
truly blessed!
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