“For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” Psalm 48:14

Fear is the emotion that we feel at a perceived threat. We see something looming on the horizon and we feel fear. This is a natural response because we are human, and we naturally want to flee from danger. But take a look at what is really going on. A perceived threat is not an actual one at the moment. This means, if you are still alive and well, the threat has not been realized. And since we are human, we can’t know everything, nor see into the future. We must take the variables at hand and interpret what it will mean for us. This puts us as the interpreter of events, but it does not put us in the godlike position of actually knowing what will happen. As humans, we interpret based upon the grid of our personality, events that color our past, our personal bents towards temptation, our ability to see the variables and even if we had a good night’s sleep. Then add to that mix, you have the devil getting in there with his lies that God doesn’t hear, all is lost, and we have to save ourselves.

This is not a very secure place to make a judgement, let alone act on it. The only secure place for a mortal to be is on the true Rock, which is the Lord who spoke the universe into being, who sees everything, knows everything and has everything in His hands, which includes our particular situation down here on earth. That is the rock that we look to, to interpret everything else.

“For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” Ps. 36:9

“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy.” Ps 61:1-3

Then He tells us how to view things based upon His Word, which tells us that He is still in perfect control and loves us. Our Savior, Jesus, tells us things like:

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” Jn. 14:1

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” Jn 15:9

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Jn. 14:27

We interpret our situation based upon who God is and not upon our emotions. The things stated above are true, and we should act accordingly with them in mind. But, what about the natural emotion that is felt at the time of a threat? It is not the emotion that presents itself in the moment that is the problem, but what we do with it right after that counts. Does it go up to God or remain on us? Sometimes it is a juggling act, but that is the growing and learning part. Our faith grows as we struggle, confess, learn and grow. God is very patient, and He doesn’t want us to give in to the emotion at the moment but to keep giving our burdens to Him and to keep them there. Here is the process:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6,7

Therefore we can have peace because of who He is, not because of our ability to see or to save ourselves.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trust in You.”
Is 26:3

And in the end, if the threat proves real and we get hit, God will be there to help. He promises that.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Is. 41:10

He Has You, that Much

People say “God is so good” especially after an unexpected answer to prayer or when someone is delivered from a trial in a great way. But, what if, after praying hard for deliverance or for a certain answer, that answer goes against what you had wanted, almost in the opposite direction? Now where are you? Can you still say with all your heart “God is so good” and really mean it? Yes, you can, and I can tell you why. It is because God is – period. He doesn’t change. His character remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is sure, constant, and does not move with the variables of life. He is someone you can count on over and over and over again.

So, when life gets scary, He is the only safe place to be. But, in the confusion of the unexpected that quickly turns to alarming, and when you are trying to make sense of it all, it is very easy to get derailed. That is why it is important to always go back to what you do know, and to stand there first before you interpret the rest.

So, what do you know about God that doesn’t ever change based upon the truth of His word?
God is good.
God loves you (John 17:23).
God listens to your prayers.
God is open to your cry and answers when you call (Psalm 145:18,19).
God is in control of your life.
God gave the trial and means good from it
God wants to bless you through this.
God will walk with you every step of the way and will not forsake you (Hebrews 13:5,6).
These promises, along with many others, can be found in His Word. They are solid and don’t change, therefore you can rely on them. These are the positive things that you can know. But, the Bible also says that you have an enemy against you, the devil, (Eph. 6:12) who will be undermining all the above by telling you lies like: God does not love you. You are all alone and He doesn’t hear, nor will act on your behalf. So therefore, you must scramble to act on your own, or curl up in a ball and give up.
These lies come on the heels of feelings that are caught up in the turmoil of the moment. When it doesn’t feel like the above things are true because bad things are happening to you, that is especially the time you need to stand on what you do know to be true and make the choice to stay there by faith. You stand on God’s promises because they are true. Feelings on the other hand are fickle and change depending on a host of variables. They are not based on anything super solid, which can lead you astray. Hanging onto the truth in the battle is the only thing that can keep you standing in the thick of the fight. When you use the shield of faith (Eph. 6:16) in God’s promises you can quench all the fiery darts (doubts) of the enemy. But you have to be in His word to know what those promises are and to know how to use them. Then, you have to choose to believe them in faith, because doing so gets you back up on the God who is the giver of those promises. Resting on God alone is the surest foundation. It is believing what He is telling you. It is not being fearful because He has your situation in His hand, in spite of the emotion that is right there telling you the opposite.
Do I know what I’m talking about? Yes. We, as missionaries to the Ivory Coast, have just completed a Bible translation in a language that hadn’t been written before. We raised our children in a village, in the tropics, with no electricity or running water. We’ve had various health issues, including typhoid with no doctor nearby. We went through numerous times of unrest, got caught in a war, and had to flee when they were after whites. During the hardest time of the evacuation my health crashed, leaving me a functional shut in for years with an unknown and potentially scary condition. Then on top of all that, later my daughter, who had helped me when I was down, got Multiple Sclerosis, a potentially debilitating disease. Speak about things not going the way we thought they should! Yet God still triumphs through it all. How do I know this? Because He says He does, and I’ve seen it in action. I have learned to see things through His perspective rather than mine.

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37).

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14).
He triumphs not in spite of the problems but because of them. When we need Him, His strength comes through. He acts, then blesses, and turns hard situations into opportunities that glorify Him and form His character in us. And in doing so, He is advancing His kingdom and getting us fit for eternity with Him.

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Cor. 12:9).

So, how did He come through for us? By God’s grace I was healed of my condition years later, and just recently the translation was finished even after many set backs and hinderances. We thank God for all these things. And even for the things that have not been answered yet, like my daughter Noai’s healing, God has been so faithful in helping my daughter and her husband walk through this, one step at a time. We all can see the hand of God doing marvelous things, teaching them His character, wisdom and glory. These are all things that count and that will not be taken away from them. And, in spite of all their challenges, they are a very joyful family.

No matter what the outcome, God is so good through it all. God’s wild path is always better, over our ideal one because it is the path to glory, hardships and all. Therefore, when you choose to give your ‘Amen’ to the hard path He has chosen, it will be credited to you as faith because you are believing He will come through in His way. If you wait to give your ‘Amen’ to it after you are in heaven and can finally see that it was the best path, it will no longer be faith. So, you might as well give your ‘Amen’ now and at least be credited with faith.

Yet, if we could choose, we would choose the path that is not so hard. We can wonder, why can’t God just let us live an ideal life and still accomplish His purposes? That would be nice but consider this, when we are weak, when we really need God, that is when we have to rely on God’s strength alone. God’s strength is the ultimate strength, so when we have access to that power and use it, we have access to everything, and therefore are truly strong and are becoming more like Christ. Consider that we often don’t access his strength when we can still stand on our
own. So, needing Him, and building up our faith means far more to God than letting us live our life of ease, because without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb. 11:6) Do we really want a milk toast life with an immature faith that has not been tested in the fire?

Another aspect to consider is that He is up to something good because the trial always goes beyond just yourself. It affects others too in God’s overarching plan. When you go through a trial faithfully, which means looking to Him continuously in all the ups and downs, God is
working in your heart and this affects others, giving them courage to walk in faith as well. This process is moving His kingdom forward by building up His people through the great cloud of witnesses that keep accumulating. He has eternity in mind because this earth is not all there is.
Even though we may understand all the above, it is still hard down in the trenches. So how do you handle a great disappointment, or disastrous turn of events? The first thing you do is to run to the one who gave you that trial. If you run away because God is too dangerous, you will be
doubly hit, first with the trial and secondly from being cut off from the help you would have gotten. You must daily cry out to Him. And, it is ok to cry, to feel grief, to mourn a loss because we are human. But when you do, you need to do it in faith and not despair, in hope and not in fear, with a joy that rests on God’s character alone and not the situation. So, run to God. Tell Him all about it. Let His love wash over you and let those everlasting arms catch you underneath. He knows and understands, and He wants to take your hand and lead you.

“I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8).

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10).

Let Him protect you, pick you up when you collapse, comfort you when you cry, carry you when you are weak, and gently lift you up when you are down in a pool of discouragement.

“As a father pities His children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For he knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13,14).

Yes, He does pick you up, forgives the hopelessness that has engulfed you, then places the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith back in your hands and teaches you how to fight anew. You are never without help in whatever form you need.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1,2).

God is either who He says He is, or He is not. Therefore, we can get up and fight with hope and above all to stand in confidence. So much so, that you can even go off rejoicing after you have given your burden to Him, because He has you that much.

A Christmas Devotional

These are mainly verses and a quote on the joy of Christ coming and what it means:

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor.4:6

What God has done for us through Christ:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Eph. 2:4-7

What love the Father has bestowed on us because of Christ’s coming:

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3

What a wonderful position we are in because of Christ:

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Col. 3:1-4

What we look forward to because of Christ:

“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” Psalm 17:5

A quote by Samuel Rutherford that puts things into perspective:

“When we shall come home and enter to the possession of our Brother’s fair kingdom, and when our heads shall find the weight of the eternal crown of glory, and when we shall look back to pains and sufferings; then shall we see life and sorrow to be less than one step or stride from a prison to glory; and that our little inch of time-suffering is not worthy of our first night’s welcome home to heaven.” The Loveliness of Christ by Samuel Rutherford. pp 16

All this because God commanded the light to shine out of the darkness to show His glory through Christ. And we have that! Back to our opening verse:

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor.4:6

No matter how hard your sufferings here on earth. Let that light shine in your hearts and draw you upwards to Him and all the wonder that is to come!

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Psalm 34
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”

The Psalmist starts out this Psalm with praise and blessing which he is going to give at all times, whether good or bad. This is a good way to begin as it sets the mind up on the Lord.

There is a recurrent theme in this Psalm:

“I sought the Lord,
and He heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears.” vs 4
Notice the use of the word ‘all’. God delivers from all his fears. And what was the result?
“They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.” vs 5

The theme comes again in verse 6 from a little different angle:

“This poor man cried out,
and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.”

Again note he was saved out of ‘all’ his troubles. But this time it gives a glimpse into the process.

“The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” vs 7
After this section comes the resultant praise.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” vs 8

 The next sequence occurs in verse 17:
“The righteous cry out,
and the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.

But instead of the usual praise following after, there comes a little different theme:
“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” vs 18

So this time a specific affliction is mentioned – a broken heart, and even there the Lord still saved. He is in the business of saving no matter what the afflictions are. He caps this section off with:
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” vs19

There is that word ‘all’ again. How can the Lord deliver out of all our afflictions when we still seem to have them? Let’s go back to a verse we skipped over that may shed some light:
“Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” vs 10

We shall not lack any good thing. How can that be in the midst of a trial? We won’t lack any good thing if He fills us with Himself and is taking us up to glory in the process. The key is to look up at what He is doing, where He is going and what is to come as a focal point that keeps you stable in the current waves. With the focus on God as a rock, the waves can’t drown you. God is in the process of delivering from trial, sometimes it is immediate, sometimes it waits a bit, sometimes it even waits a long time to happen. But it comes, and often it comes when things seem the darkest. And in that ‘deliverance process’ God is giving more of Himself as a blessing.

That final deliverance only comes when we are set free from our mortal bodies and enter into His glorious kingdom because this world is not all we have. In light of all that, yes we don’t lack any good thing when we have God, because with God comes all that is His, and He delights to give us what is His when we need it.

And in the end, when that ultimate victory comes to fruition, all our troubles will cease. But in the meantime, He takes our hand in the midst of the troubles, never leaving us in the process and delivering in His way and in His timing. All that we have to know is that He is with us and He is doing something good with it. And if we can’t see the why or the good of it now, we just have to trust in what we do know, that God is good.
Remember, true peace doesn’t come from the changing of a situation, but from the resting of the mind on Christ
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” Is 26:3,4

“…For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.”Heb. 13:5

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Ps 23:4

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness,’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor. 12:9,10

The problem with trials, is that you are in a position of weakness. But, what is weakness, how does the world view weakness and what does God think about it?

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I  be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.” 2 Cor. 12:7,8

Paul, one of the greatest Christians of all time, was in a situation where he was weak. In verse 7, he was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him, lest he should be exalted above measure. He even pleaded with God three times for it to be taken away. And notice, he pleaded to God and not Satan because he knew ultimately Who gave him the trial, even though it was given through an evil messenger. God was in control and going somewhere with it.

How does the world view weakness? The world looks down on any weakness as a negative thing since it makes you lower than others by comparison. It makes you the tail and not the head, the one who is frail, feeble and needing help, not the one giving help. That position must be avoided at all costs according to a world that worships strength. The dictionary’s definition of weakness is, ‘the state or condition of lacking strength’. And this appears to be in direct contradiction to Paul’s assumption that there is strength in weakness.

Oddly enough, Paul doesn’t shun weakness either but embraces it, and even boasts in it. This goes completely against all nature and there has to be a reason for this reversal. So what does Paul mean when he says, ‘when I am weak, then I am strong’?

When Paul is in a state of weakness, that means his own strength is not sufficient, which again means he needs to access strength beyond his own to carry on. If his own strength were enough for his needs, then he would not need to look elsewhere for it. But since it is not, he chose to look up to God for divine strength instead which is infinitely stronger than the very strongest of the human strengths. So by being weak, the power of God could come through in a way it could not when he was leaning on his own because God’s strength can’t shine through when, human strength is being leaned on. It can only be perfected whenyou areweak. So, when Paul exchanged his weakness, to gain access to God’s strength, Paul was actually becoming much stronger, in the process.

What types of weaknesses need the power of Christ? Basically everything. Can we really cope on our own in any area of life? No, we only think we can. Being mortal means we have an inherent weakness, called sin that messes everything up. The strength of the cross takes care of the power of sin but we still need God in all areas of our life due to the weakness of being mortal, and often we don’t fully realize it. Yet, when we experience the weakness that comes from a trial, it is a gift that puts this whole truth into center focus to make people aware of their own great need for God. When this is realized and God’s strength comes in, things are flipped upside down and the tail becomes the head, the weak become the truly strong, the feeble become the great in God’s eyes because these weaknesses get the human out of the way so that the divine, that never fails, can come through.

God’s strength in weakness is so sufficient, that Paul prefers this to being naturally strong and never needing God. He owns the process, taking pleasure in it, even boasting about it. When he is boasting in his weakness he is really boasting in Christ’s strength by default. So precious is this to Paul that if given a choice, he would prefer infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions, and distresses for Christ’s sake because when he is weak, then he is truly strong.

So weakness, done right through divine exchange, is really strength.

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Change Your Goal – What happened after Paul ‘Arrived’ in society

“…rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If  anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so” (Philippians 3:3-4).

So Paul has a list of qualifications that were admirable. It made him somebody. Let’s see what they were.

“circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee” (v 5).

In other words, he belonged to a privileged group which set him a part as a high ranking Hebrew, which meant he was looked up to and respected.

“concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (v 6).

He was known for his zeal, which meant persecuting this new faction that was concerning the Jews at the time. Paul was respected and considered blameless being the ‘righteous’ one, better than the others, according to their ranking. He had clout and was the head and not the tail in society.

In other words, Paul had arrived. He had quite the list of credentials, but he gave it all up. Why? Because after God got a hold of him, he finally realized he was pursuing the wrong goal. What he had so carefully regarded before, became garbage in his eyes.

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for who I have suffered the loss of all tings, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ”  (v 7-8).

So this was Paul’s new goal. He was willing to give up everything to pursue and attain the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. In other words, he wanted to gain Christ. This meant so much to Paul that he would forsake everything he had before, counting it as garbage in comparison. What else was he pursuing?

“and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (v 9-10).

He was exchanging his respectable position in society, and the pride of his own righteousness for the wild ride of knowing and loving Jesus Christ. He was pursuing knowing God by faith and the power of the resurrection which would lead him down to the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, conform him to his death than to be resurrected from the dead. Paul wanted that and he was willing to give up all previous goals for it.

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus, has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (v 12-14).

Paul pressed on towards his goal of knowing Jesus Christ. It consumed him. He had a single focus, a single goal with all else falling underneath that. He even wanted to forget everything behind him as he reached out for the goal for the prize of the upward call of God. Onward and upward, deeper in to that wild love, peace and joy that is Christ. Higher up in levels of faith, of seeing His beauty, of the joy of a bright eternity. Paul gave up his life as he knew it, to gain a greater life in its place. In other words, he didn’t have expectations for an ideal life anymore. That ideal rested all in Christ.

So, what did that mean for Paul? Let’s take a look at the life he got after he changed his goals.

“…in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often in cold and nakedness” (2 Cor. 11:23a-27).

Paul exchanged all that he had valued before, for the above trials. He was willing to go on any route God would take him so that he could press on to the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ for his glory. Why? Because Jesus was worth it. His glory was worth it, and what was to come in God’s glorious kingdom was worth it.

What about you? How far are you willing to go? What if God calls you to suffer because He knows you will gain a deeper level of that richness of Christ?  Would you want that more than anything else, even your ideal life? If you do, and you are still hanging onto your shattered dreams with a tight fist, open your hand up and give your dreams to God. Change your goal from just getting out of the trial, to glorifying God. When you do this, the rest will follow, because God will walk with you and carry you as He is accomplishing His purposes.

See the mountain of God’s goodness behind the hill of your troubles. Think like God does to the glory beyond, that there is a reason for all the disappointments, hardships and suffering we are experiencing here on this earth. Look up and see Jesus and let His presence fill you with that hope. Because this life is not all there is, and His paths are leading you to His eternal glory. And just like he promised, all His goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your lives, even through your trials. He is that big and wonderful.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

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Perfect peace and trust

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength” (Is. 26:3, 4).

God will keep us in perfect peace if something happens. I like the word, ‘perfect’. It means nothing can ruffle it, or take it away. It is solid, and sustaining. ‘Peace’. I like that word.

So, to get this perfect peace something has to happen first. It is the staying of our mind completely on God. That is what Peter did when he was walking on the waves. As long as he looked at His Lord, he was OK and could do the miraculous. But if he took just one look at the waves pitching to and fro at his side, he would start to sink. So, the trick is to focus on a mark. How do you do that? First of all, what you focus on is important. If you focus on yourself or your situation, you’ll go under. But if you focus on God, you are focusing on Someone who is all powerful, all knowing and who loves you because you are His child. Then you look up to Him and cry out for help. Keep looking up and standing fast, praying as you go. By doing this you are looking up to the only One who can save you and the situation. But this means you need to ignore your emotions as you go. That last part is very important. Why? Because of the next step – trust.

We stay our minds upon God for a reason, because we trust Him. We trust Him with whatever concerns us, having full confidence that He will come through for us in the right way when we need it. It means we don’t dictate to Him how He must do it, though we can request a certain course through prayer. But it also means we don’t trust our emotions which scream at us that we can’t trust God and should just try to save ourselves. These thoughts can be safely ignored. They are lies. Emotions are really good at lying to us.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5,6).

Faith is what drives trust. You trust God because you believe He will come through, even when you can’t see it or feel it will be so.

Then the rest of the verse highlights this trust again:

“Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength” (Is 26:4).

Trusting puts you focused on the One with everlasting strength, strength to carry you through your present trial whether it is physical, relational, financial or emotional. God is equal to all.

The verses preceding this state that God had saved the Israelites from a real threat when Isaiah writes:

“For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall” (Is. 25:4).

So Isaiah knows what he is talking about. But this trust also focuses beyond the present looking forward to a time where:

“He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (Is. 25:8, 9).