There are times in our lives when trouble shows up and it doesn't want to leave. We all experience trouble now and then. We look around our world today and we can see for ourselves that there is a whole lot of trouble going on. There is a lot of anger and rage. There are a lot of disasters going on as well with the weather and other things. There have been fires in the western part of the U.S. and there have been storms that have hit the southern part of the U.S. There has been an earthquake in Mexico. There is a threat of terrorism all around our world. There is a lot of unrest going on around our world. There is something going on in our world today that just seems not right.
Many people are wondering if God is trying to get people to wake up and come to Him for help. Sometimes we people can be so very stubborn. Many people feel as though they can handle things on their own and they don't need God. That is very wrong thinking because we all need God whether we want to admit or not. I need God each and everyday of my life and I am thankful that He is in my life.
Perhaps the Lord is using all the troubles that the world is experiencing to draw people to the truth of who He is and the way we can get to know Him. God is the Creator of all things seen and unseen. He is the one that we are all accountable to whether we like it or not. There will come a day when we will all have to stand before God in judgment and account for the way we lived our lives.
Some people try to live a good life so they will please God, but I tell you that won't work for any of us because we have all sinned. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. That means there is not one of us that is righteous on our own. There is none of us that does good. We have all failed to live up to the high standards that God has for us, but there is good news.
God demonstrated His awesome love toward you and me and toward the whole world by doing something fantastic. God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to live a perfect and sinless life. He could do this because He was fully God and fully man. Jesus kept the law and the commandments that God has established. He is the only one that has ever done this and He did it because He is God.
Jesus went and laid down His life by dying on the Cross. The Lord Jesus shed His blood on the Cross for my sins, your sins, and the sins of the whole world. Jesus bore the punishment that you and I so rightly deserve. We can't earn our salvation. We can't earn our way into Heaven. God made a way when there seemed to be no way for us. Jesus died on the Cross for our sins and rose to life the third day to show us that He is indeed God.
When we confess our sins to Him and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are saved. That means we receive His forgiveness by accepting His sacrifice on the Cross for our sins. We must receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior by faith. We are saved by faith by trusting in God's grace.
The Lord Jesus rose to life the third day and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven and one day He will return to bring the Kingdom of God to the earth in full completion. The Lord Jesus didn't leave us to fend for ourselves down here while we wait for His return. When we place our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ He sends the Holy Spirit to indwell within us.
The Lord Jesus told us that in this world of ours that we would have troubles, but He also told us to take heart because He has overcome the world. There will be troubling things that will occur in our lives and in the live of people all around the world, but we must remember that there is hope in Jesus Christ for everyone who places their faith and trust in Him.
God wants all people to come to Him and we all can. God wants to have a personal relationship with each of us and that is only available through Jesus Christ. Some people will scoff and many won't come to the Lord and that makes me sad. I pray that their hearts and minds will be changed and they too will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
God is truly awesome and He does amazing things all the time. All things are possible with God. He invites each one of us into a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. When troubles come and we know they will we have a friend that stick closer than a brother. The Lord will stick with us each step of the way if we are trusting in Him. He will never leave us and He will never forsake us. Even if we find our selves in a terrifying storm we can know that God will be there.
(Read 2 Chronicles 20)
http://www.biblestudytools.com/2-chronicles/20.html
I remember reading about Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. He had a lot of trouble coming his way in the form of several armies were coming to attack him and his nation. Jehoshaphat did something that many people nowadays would think was crazy. He called for the whole country to turn to the Lord in prayer. He then sought the Lord in prayer himself while he was in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord. What an awesome thing when a ruler of a country turns to the Lord for help and asks the people to do the same.
When we are in trouble we need to turn to the only one that can possibly help and that is the Lord. He is the only true living God. He is the Maker of all things. His ways are greater than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. The Lord delivered Jehoshaphat out of his troubles by His power so that He would get all the glory and praise. We ought to praise the Lord for His help in our troubling times. We ought to lift up the name of Jesus when trouble comes knocking on our doors.
Let us, "Give thanks to the Lord,
for His love endures forever."
We can trust the Lord with our troubles. We can trust Him to walk us through any troubling time. We need to trust Him no matter how grim and bleak things may look on the surface. We can rest in the arms of Jesus as the storm rages on around us.
Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Thank You for always being with us even in our troubles.
Help us to lean onto Your everlasting arms.
Lead us and guide us safely each and everyday.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.
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