I Will Be With You

Even though you may be facing great, fiery trials, whether it be cancer that is spreading and growing throughout your body, financial hardships, or a broken marriage there is hope and joy in the Lord.

You may not think so, but you will find peace in the Lord, if you cast all your worries and doubts on to Him. The Lord cares for you and He loves you. NOTHING can separate you from the love of God.
Trust in Him. Draw upon His strength and guidance and He will walk you through the fiery dark trial. 

And you will find encouragement in His Word. The more you get to know the Lord, you will see that your worries, anxiety, and depression will diminish. And as your faith and trust grows in Him, you will realize that He has always been there and He will never leave you.

Do not let the enemy win. Do not let the enemy discourage you. The enemy wants to drag you down into the deep, lonely, dark waters, whereas, the Lord will see you through those deep, dark waters. He is your Light in the darkness as it says in Isaiah 43:2 " When you go through the deep waters, I will be with you"

Heavenly Father Lord God,
We ask that you would give people strength, trust, courage and hope to overcome the present battles that they face. Help keep the enemy at bay and prevent him from dragging people down into the dark areas that he loves to dwell in to weaken and destroy people. Help those struggling to have a desire to draw closer to You and to seek You during the dark trials of their lives. 

We ask this in Jesus Name.
Amen 

Amidst Tragedy There is Hope

Many think tragedies are brought on by our sins. For example, in the book of Job, Job's friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, believed that Job’s suffering was brought on due to some great sin that Job had committed. The three of them urged Job to seek God and repent. God has punished people for their sins, such as God punished the Israelites' to wander in the wilderness for forty years for their disobedience and unbelief. But not all tragedies are brought on by our sins.

Some tragedies are brought on or allowed to test our faith. As was the case in the book of Job in chapters 1-3, Satan was allowed to test Job’s faithfulness. Satan was certain that Job's faithfulness would fail amongst tragedies and anguish. 
How true will we be to our Lord when tragedy strikes? Will we stand firm in our faith and hold fast when tragedies strike, or will we begin to blame God, hate God, or run away from God because He has allowed such circumstances to happen in our lives?

Perhaps the tragedy is a wake-up call to shake you to your core to get you back on the right path towards God. God may use several tragedies to draw you back to Him and to get you to lean on Him for strength once again.

The tragedy could be the result of simply of living in a fallen world. A world that once was perfect, but due to the fall in the garden, the world is now in a state of suffering, decay, and death.

Or maybe, the tragedy is meant to show God's glory and to bring someone who is a non-believer to Him. 

We may never know, or we may never understand why certain tragedies befall us, but we can rest assured that God does, and He is in control. Maybe not during the tragedy, but later on in life, you will see His great love for you, His plan for you, and His goodness. Goodness, you say!? Yes, because amidst the tragedy there is hope. And that hope is in Jesus. Place your hope in Him amidst the tragedy, and He will carry you through.

Heavenly Father,

We thank you for Your great love and for the hope You gave us through Your son Jesus. A hope You have given us to be the light that leads us and comforts us during great and small tragedies throughout our lives. As you tell us in John 16:33, we know Lord that we were never guaranteed to have a trouble free life.  In fact, you tell us that we will, but we can be at peace for You have overcome the world. We thank you Lord that you will carry us through these great and trying times.

Amen.

May you have a blessed week.

Carol