In The Hands Of the Lord...

In my other post, i mentioned that there were two things over the last weekend that touched me, in that it was so relevant to the unhappy events and troubles that i faced last week, it taught me and reminded me of what i needed to do in the face of all the "suffering", which was to trust the Lord, be joyful, give thanks to the Lord no matter what and to rest and be still knowing that God is in control and that He is a mighty God with whom all things possible; and to truly believe that in all the bad things and uncertainty in life, that God has a perfect plan. The first of the "two things", is the one i just shared in my other post about the movie i watched called" FACING THE GIANT". Well, so i didn't talk about the other one due to certain constraints, so therefore my purpose in this next post is to enlighten one on what the other thing was.

Right, so it was well, simply just the message at church on the Sunday that just past. But, the reason i really must point out this message is to show that truly God is there for me like he is for everyone when i face struggles and when life is treating me good too, He is there no matter what through life as you know which is a series of ups and downs, that we experience. And, since last week i faced so many trials, what the message said was exactly suited for what i was facing at that point, which showed God had been speaking to me, in that the message was about trusting in the Lord because in His hands as we all are, we are safe and need not worry or be afraid. But, even more compelling was that the bible verse used was exactly the same one as the one used for devotion at school today. And, just the other nite, it was more than coincidental(God's doing), that i was listening and singing the song STILL which goes:

Hide me now,

Under your wings,

Cover me,

within your mighty hand...

When the oceans rise,

and thunders roar,

I will soar with you above the storm,

Father you are king over the flood,

I will be still,

Know you are God. (Chorus)

Find rest my soul,

In Christ alone,

Know His power,

In quietness and trust...

(Chorus repeat)

This song i mean speaks volumes about how in spite of the storms of life, that God is in control and will comfort and protect us, and that no matter what we go through that we can trust the Lord, who has us safe in His hands...and such that we can rest in the Lord...

Anw, so the message in church was about how the hand of God will keep us safe and that even with all the difficult times, we can trust the Lord for His hand is upon us. The verse taken from the bible, which was the same one used for devotion this morning was about the story of Esther who became a queen when she was a girl who had no father or mother and lived as a commoner. Then, she had already faced alot of troubles, but by God's grace, God brought her out of her difficult life and made her queen, all the power of God, who had His amazing hand on Esther. But, anw, when she became, her life was good. Then, just as even when good things happen to us, we know that we will still face trouble in life, she faced another serious problem. Her people were in danger and she needed to make a request to the king to save her people and she knew that she possibly could get killed seeking an audience with the king when he had not called for her. But, urged to do the right thing for God and her people she risked her life and after getting the people to pray and fast, she did so and in the end God protected Esther and the people were saved. The message at church was about this application to the troubles in life, that God's hand is sovereign and that when we move with the hand of God there is nothing to fear and we can overcome it. So, i mean truly, in all the troubles that we face on this earth, we ought to trust the Lord and remain in His hands and know that God will see us through.

Well, so the application of this verse in the morning devotion was about doing the right thing, even if we know that by doing the right thing that we will face danger or encounter difficulties or be ostrasized or potentially there could be some consequences or we may need to sacrifice something. We can do this because when we do what glorifies the Lord, the Lord will help us overcome whatever may stand in our way. In that sense too, we must trust the Lord and do the right thing despite what circumstance we're in, coz the hand of God is with us. I felt this really spoke to me in that, as long as i do the right thing, i do not have to care about or perhaps worry about anything, including the fact that in a certain sense i'm kinda marginalised at times. But, i know that, as long as i do what is right, my conscience is clear and whatever price there is to pay, that when i move in the hands of the Lord that He will see me through it all.

So to end, here's the reason we face suffering in life and what it means to trust the Lord inspite of all that we face. Suffering is actually a result of Man's sin coz we live in a fallen world. But, our loving and merciful God has a perfect plan to use suffering to accomplish His threefold purpose. First, He uses pain and suffering to draw us to Himself so that we will cling to Him. It is in times of despair and sorrow that we reach out to Him, and, if we are His children, we always find Him there waiting to comfort and uphold us through it all. In this way, He proves His faithfulness to us and ensures that we will stay close to Him. An added benefit is that as we experience God’s comfort through trials, we are then able to comfort others in the same way. He proves to us that our faith is real through the suffering and pain that are inevitable in this life. God uses suffering to take our eyes off this world and put them on the next. He assures us that “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). So even suffering is part of the “all things” that God is using to accomplish His good purposes. His plan is perfect, His character is flawless, and those who trust Him will not be disappointed.

Oh Lord, i pray that you will give me faith and trust in you that's so great that even in the face of the worst things in life or whatever troubles, that i will not be put down by it and that i will be able to love you ever more strongly and that i will bring glory, honor and praise unto you oh Lord, and that i will have such great joy in you. Help me oh Lord to conquer the difficulties and to have such great joy and trust and passion in you that, people will see how great you are oh Lord, that people will see you Lord, coz i really believe in you. Amen.