December 5 – To Hope is To Wait

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.”  - Psalm 42:5  (NASB)

There is a promise here that is ours if we are willing to wait, to hope in God.  Depression is so very common among all people and it is nothing new.  The author of this psalm writes as if for all who will sing the song.  Being in despair is to be sunk down or depressed.  How do we react when we find our soul sunk down?  There is a mental illness some of us suffer with which is called depression but there is also these momentary times of depression due to profound sadness or disruption of our lives.  Death, loss of job or home, divorce, failure to succeed and many other circumstances which cause us to be in despair in a common way.  We learn this promise here that if we respond to such times by hoping in the only one who is unchangeable, our God; if we are willing to wait for his solution to work out, we are promised a return to praising Him again. He will come and His presence will bring help and the wisdom and guidance we need. God never forsakes His own. 

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April 2 – On the Road to Understanding

“They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”” Luke 24:32 (NIV)

For us Resurrection Day is past for this year but we can remember His resurrection every Sunday and even every day.  The Bible records some important events which happened on the day that Jesus arose from the dead, both in the morning and later in the day. In the Gospel of Luke we have recorded the account of two disciples who were traveling to the small town of Emmaus and they are met by Jesus. They were disturbed by what they had heard and Jesus encourages them by explaining what the Old Testament had taught them about Him, long before He came to earth. After Jesus suddenly leaves them, as they begin to share a meal, the two disciples marveled at what He had explained to them. Their reaction is recorded in our verse today.  Jesus had opened the Scriptures to them and their understanding and it had warmed their hearts. There is so much in the Bible that is there to warm our hearts too.  The Holy Spirit is here to open the heart-warming truths for us.  Let's be sure we open our eyes as we open our Bibles often and open our hearts to God's wonderful truths and promises. 

Where was Emmaus?  


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July 1

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”  Psalm 116:7 (NIV)

We need to be reminded often of the goodness and love of our God. Here the psalmist is talking to himself reminding himself of God’s goodness. I’m impressed by the fact that it was a reminder of something he had known before. He tells himself to be at rest once more. He had experienced a spiritual relaxation, a spiritual peace before, maybe many times. Now something had disturbed his thinking and he needed to be reminded again of God’s goodness. Don’t we have experiences like that too? Even though you have trusted in the Lord before, something comes up and you are disturbed. Then you need to remind yourself of the truth you have already known.  

March 6

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

There are several promises here given by God to His people. Think of the words: “in his love he will no longer rebuke you.” He knows what we need. He knows when our hearts are disturbed. Although there can be many reason for being disturbed in heart or mind, God has a way of bringing peace to us. He does it by reminding us of His great love for us. The next time something bothers us, remember that God loves us with an indescribable love.