Suffering Hope!
Only when our hearts are ruled by God’s Love are we given the hope that transcends emotion or circumstance.
*”…we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts…”
Romans 5:3-5
*We must absolutely know that Christ has made the ultimate sacrifice that no one could ever make. It is a showing of how good God’s love is because He knew that we couldn’t do anything within ourselves and the only true way to come to the Father is through Jesus.
*Thank you God that tribulations eventually lead to Hope. We must Place your Hope in the Only place it can truly be found; God.
Psalm 102 – Suffering Hope!
*David got down quite a bit, as we see in the psalms regularly. But he always cried out to God when he did…
*This psalm is great comfort for those in distress and that are currently suffering or depressed.
This Psalms provides many truths that we can build our faith on!
1) Our lives are limited and our days are numbered.
*We must focus not on our plans, but those plans of God!
*We should be thinking how we can spread the Truths that we have been shown to the unbelievers so that they may enjoy the gift of eternal life and not perish.
2) The psalmist foreshadows Christ’s return in the rebuilding of Zion and that the world will worship the One true King!
*This should be something we eagerly wait for!
3) God is unchanging! He is the same as yesterday, today, and tomorrow!
*We can Trust Him and place our Hope in Him!
**We will ALL endure suffering and pain in this lifetime, but those moments are Opportunities for Your Faith to grow the most! These moments help us realize our dependence on God!
*God uses times of suffering to get us to focus on Him and let us know that He is capable of handling ALL of our issues!
*We have a mighty God that will return in the form of Jesus and we must continue to pray daily that we will honor the Lord and live the lives that He planned for us!
I encourage you to read Psalm 102 and trust that God is indeed your Deliverer in all troubles! See the Hope!
**Psalms 102 is a picture of a man in deep dejection, loneliness, despair.
*He feels his life is withering away like the evening shadows and there’s so little time left for him. He says, “I’m withering away like grass.” Psalms 102:11.
Have you ever felt like that? And what do you do if you ever feel like that?
*Do what that man did. He looked away from himself, his own situation, he lifted up his eyes to the Lord and he saw the Lord by faith, on His throne, and he realized that the Lord “doesn’t change” with OUR situations and circumstances.
The Lord is always on His throne. He never leaves it or takes a break; He’s always in “Total Control”.
*Psalms 102:12 But you, OLORD, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure to every generation.
*And then he realizes that there’s going to come a time of compassion and mercy.
He says in verse 13, “It’s time to show favor to Zion; the appointed time has come.”
Psalms 102:1 LORD, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea!
*Once we understand what Jesus did for us. Depression and the rest cant stand!
***Joy, Peace, Happiness is a natural outflow when you have revelation(Something revealed that was not known) of what Jesus did for you.
**Titus 2:14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
**Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
**Matthew 6: 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
In our trials, it’s easy to focus on our circumstances and lose the big picture. *We need to “Look Up” and not around.
Although the trials seem huge at the time, they are temporary. Keep Moving Forward and Looking Up to Jesus!
Romans 12: 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
So let’s look away from our problems, our distresses, our anxieties. Let’s look, like the psalmist, up to the throne of God, see God there on His throne and realize He’s ready to show mercy.
Jesus knows our frame. He remembers that we are but dust (Ps. 103:14). It is not a sin to doubt, but it becomes sin if we harbor those doubts. We should bring our doubts to the Lord. Let’s allow Him to deal with them.
The Lord’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa. 55:8). To see His miraculous power in our lives, we must do “whatsoever” He tells us to do regardless of how foolish it may seem.
“The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). Today, whatsoever He says unto you, do it!
Prayer is an acknowledgement of our need for God!
*The issue isn’t how much time we spend with God in prayer but Seeking Him and Knowing that He’s there 24/7!
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Cor 3:7
God, thank you for loving me enough to call my name before the creation of the world, thank you for guiding my life in sovereign fashion, and thank you for holding on to me even when I don’t hold on to you. Lord- I need to put You first. Everything else on earth will wear out and fade away. You will be the same forever. Look down upon us, Lord Jesus; and bring us into the glorious liberty of thy children, that we may bless and praise thy name and give You ALL the Glory. May we always look “UP” first! Thank You Jesus. Amen.
*‘I will sing of Your love… I will walk with integrity of heart…’(101:1-2).