Troubles? There’s Help!

Loving God with “all our willpower” simply means making continual faith choices to obey His Will rather than our own.
“I have called upon Thee every day, O Lord; I have spread out my hands to Thee.”Psalm 88:9

Thank Offerings to God
God desires for us to call on Him in times of trouble. It’s not selfish or a sign of defeat.
*God wants us to call on Him so that we will praise and love Him all the more when He rescues us.
*God desires to show us His heart of mercy and grace in our weakness.

Psalm 50:14-15. Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

I never noticed this before, but according to the context here, asking God for help is an act of worship.

The whole section here is talking about God’s total sufficiency, and proper and improper worship.
God then comes to verses 14 and 15 and tells us the kind of worship He wants:
1. Be Thankful (acknowledge that He is the Source).
2. Perform your vows (acknowledge that He is Lord by being obedient).
3. Ask for Help (acknowledge that He is Good).

So, bringing our problems to Him is not a burden, or a waste of time. It is an act of worship! Amazing!
At some time or other in our lives, we all face trouble. The psalmist speaks about the day of trouble.
There is not one of us that does not, at sometime or other, pass through a day of trouble.
BUT here the psalmist tells us the way out of trouble, the way of deliverance. *And let me tell you, I’ve had to prove this many times in my own experience.

What is the way out of trouble? *“Sacrifice thank offerings to God.” In the very midst of your trouble, exercise your faith and begin to thank God.
Offer Him that sacrifice of thanking Him and praising Him.
Then call upon Him in the day of trouble and His promise is, “I will deliver you,” and not merely that, “You will honor Me.”
God’s deliverance will work out to His Glory; it will become a Testimony in our lives of how God has delivered us in the day of trouble.

And then, further on in that psalm, the psalmist says, “He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God” (v. 23).

So, when we’re in trouble and we make that sacrifice of beginning to thank God although we may see no way out, we prepare a way that God shows us His salvation.
God opens the way for those who offer Him the sacrifice of thank offerings.  So when you’re in the midst of trouble, remember, that’s the way out!

After Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead, He appeared to the disciples. His first words to them were, “Peace be with you!” The word grace means “unmerited favor.” When someone loves you unconditionally, without regard to your behavior in return, it becomes a powerful force in your life.
Such was the case for the disciples when Jesus appeared to them. They could have expected reprimand.

Instead, they received unconditional love and acceptance. He was overjoyed to see them. They were equally overjoyed to see Him.

Jesus understood that the disciples needed to fail Him as part of their training. It would be this failure that became their greatest motivation for service.
Failure allowed them to experience incredible grace for the very first time. Grace would transform them as human beings.

Have you experienced this grace in your life? Have you extended grace to those who have hurt you? Can you let go of any wrongs that have come through friends or associates? The grace you extend may change their lives – and yours

Thankfulness is always part of true celebration.
*  Are we properly thankful?
* Do we give thanks every day to God for the blessings we are enjoying at the moment?
We are so trained by the media to grumble and complain, to insist on something we do not have, to focus on that instead of on all we do have.

One of the first signs of a growing, maturing spirit in young Christians is that they begin to give thanks to God for what He has poured into their life; *for the opportunities that are before them;
*and for the present blessings and liberties that they do enjoy.
So there are the elements that make up celebration: joyfulness, purity, and thanksgiving.

Lord, forgive me for so often forgetting all that I have to celebrate. Teach me to celebrate all You have done for me with joy, purity, and thanksgiving.