He Can be Trusted

Day 9: He Can be Trusted

Therefore, the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.

¹⁹   you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. ²⁰ Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. ²¹ Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
Isaiah 30:18-21 NASB

  O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
² When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord, your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior….
⁴ Others were given in exchange for you.
    I traded their lives for yours
because you are precious to me.
    You are honored, and I love you.

⁵ “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.

Isa 43:1b-5a NLT

 “Listen to me…
I have cared for you since you were born.
    Yes, I carried you before you were born.
⁴ I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
    until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
    I will carry you along and save you.
Isa 46:3-4

Sometimes I have a thought…and then another, and soon I am bound up tightly in fearsome thoughts about the future.  Finances; Health; Family needs; Housing; Disability.

Strangling in terror, as one worry after another piles on top of me.
But then I read passages like the three above…and while I know that they are largely promises for the Kingdom to come in the New Jerusalem, I do think that the God who made and will keep those promises does not change.  And his faithfulness toward, and love for, me are forever.  He comes and says to me “Beloved Child, Do you trust Me?”  That has been this year’s phrase from the Lord to me….it is part of an ongoing lesson.  An ongoing promise.  An ongoing display of his goodness and faithfulness. And as I learn daily in small and not so small ways—My Lord can be counted on to keep his word. And his word (as we see above) says that he will care for me and I am not to be afraid. As long as I am living in obedience to him and living in repentance at the cross for when I fail to obey--then he has promised protection, guidance, sustenance, meeting of physical needs and protection from enemies.

The world is a mess.  There always something to be fearful of.  But I have a God who tells me, “do not fear” and then asks “Do you trust Me?” and once more, I say “Yes, Lord, you know I trust you.”  And sometimes it is an act of faith for me to say that.  But it is a gesture he honors.  And one by one those promises are kept…and I get through trial after trial; need after need; test after test.  And yes, he can be trusted.

Prayer Focus:
Lord, for those who struggle today--who seek for help from you, their Father, that they might cling to you in times of sorrow, need, hunger, hardship, sickness; I pray that you would give them comfort and solid evidence of your presence.  Lord this world comes with many problems but you have promised to be with us, to keep us through hardship and in times of joy and blessing. Regardless of where we are or what we are going through, there you are. You are always present, always concerned with our well-being.  

That does not mean we will never experience pain or hardship or heartache.  But we know that you are greater and bigger than whatever it is this day brings to us. Help us to seek your face and to feel  your hand as it reaches to us, and to hear  your guidance as you tell us which way to go. Most of all, help us to trust You, our strength and shield, our very present help in times of trouble.  Thank you for your faithfulness.  AMEN