Trust in the Lord and be Thankful

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  -Proverbs 3:5, 6

Everyone has problems and troubles to varying degrees.  Don’t think that any one of us has a monopoly on life’s troubles – we don’t.  Countless people all around us are facing difficulties of all sorts.  I read this past week that here in America the fastest growing segment of the population facing homelessness are children.  Spend a morning at Bristol Faith In Action, The Haven of Rest, the Salvation Army, or Second Harvest Food Bank, and you’ll find people who are trying to get by on the most basic of necessities.  When I think of those ministries and the good work they do I am reminded of the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 25:35, 36 when He said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” 

I have a roof over my head and in all probability I will go to bed tonight having eaten supper, and having these places me in a better position than an overwhelming number of the world’s population.  We are to always stop and count our blessings because we know that it could just as easily be one of us who is afflicted, homeless, and in need of food and shelter.  I have met a great number of people and there is one concrete and absolute certainty about life: none of us are exempt from trials and problems.  What will we do when the troubles come?  What will be our response when the trials of life come our way?  How will we stand when we are the ones facing some new crisis?  There is one answer; we will stand by faith in God and by His power.

Apart from the presence of the Lord in our lives we would be left to handle the difficulties of life on our own strength and power.  Through faith in Jesus Christ we not only find the strength to rise up and move forward, but we do so in spiritual victory.  Those trials which would otherwise have defeated us now are moved aside by the power of the Holy Spirit.  You see, faith in Christ empowers us not to simply get by, but rather to walk forward in the abundant life which the Lord promised (John 10:10).  In Jesus we cease from surviving life to living life to its fullest.

In a world full of struggling and defeated people, we can shine the light of Christ.  The troubled soul can find hope through trusting in the Lord and relying on Him.  This as opposed to relying on ourselves, which is a sure recipe for disaster.

Look to the Lord and trust in Him.  Christ will give guidance, hope, and victory.