God's Faithful Love in All Circumstances

Dear Friends,

I preached last Sunday in my home church on the faithful love of God found in Psalm 107 (NLT). I was encouraged as I read this psalm in my quiet time and knew it was something I wanted to share with others and encourage them with too.

(If you would like to listen to my sermon on which this blog post is based, please click here and then click on the date: Sunday 28th April 2019.)

I found four examples of God's faithful love in this psalm. (Please take time to read the whole psalm before reading any further.)

1. In our Spiritual Desert, v4-9

Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless. Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. 

Have you experienced a time which you would describe as being in a spiritual desert? Perhaps that’s where you are right now? You once loved to sit with God, read your Bible, hearing God speak to you and communicating with him in prayer. You felt his presence close beside you. But now, nothing and you feel spiritually dry. But now you go through the motions of reading your Bible and praying and get nothing from it. You come along to church but you don’t receive anything. People say to you what a great morning it was and how they could feel God’s presence here, yet you felt nothing. 

Sometimes God uses a desert experience to strengthen our faith in him. To bring us to the place of believing without a doubt that he is with us even though it doesn’t seem like he is, even though we cannot feel him there. 

Can I encourage you to keep reading your Bible, even if it's one verse a day which you meditate on. Keep praying using the psalms or other prayers when you have no words of your own. Keep meeting with others rather than isolating yourself. And also cry out to God in your distress, and keep crying out to him. 

This psalm teaches us that God will answer us, he will rescue us, and bring us safely through so that once again we will find our home in him. Our spiritual hunger and thirst will be satisfied in him. We will realise he never abandoned us in our desert time, and because of his faithful love for us, he was actually with us every step of the way.

2. In our Captivity v10-16 

Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery. They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High. That is why he broke them with hard labour; they fell, and no one was there to help them. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron. 

The Bible tells us that we were once slaves to sin and held captive by sin. We were powerless to save ourselves and that’s why God sent Jesus to save us. 

Jesus said:  

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come.” Luke 4:18-19 (NLT)

Jesus has set us free from the power of sin and given us new life. 

But sometimes there are still things in our life which may be keeping us captive. 

Have you experienced a time when you felt you were held captive and in darkness? Is that how you feel right now? 

I suffer from depression, and anyone else who does too will know what a deep, dark place, that can be.  Even in the darkness, I know God gives me the power to get through each day and each season. I have found I can experience freedom whilst living with poor mental health. because God shows me his faithful love. My depression doesn’t keep me bound because I know the end of the story, I know God wins out in the end. He gives me hope in the midst of my depression.

Is there anything which is holding you captive today? Your health? An addiction? An attitude? Does it have a grip on you which you can’t shake loose? 

There are two things you can do today which I believe will help you: 

Cry out to God in your distress, just as the Israelites did, because he is a faithful God and he is with you and will stand with you. He will answer you. 

Tell someone about it. All the time you keep it to yourself, it has more power and control over it, when you give voice to it, it breaks some of that power. 

3. In our Rebellion v17-22 

Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins. They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death’s door. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts. 

Time and again the Israelites rebelled against God. They chose to go their own way and follow their own desires. But God, in his faithful love, never abandoned them. When they turned to him and cried out to him he heard and saved them. 

We are not that different from the Israelites. Sometimes we choose to go our own way rather than following his will for our lives. He doesn’t give up on us because he is always faithful, but he will lovingly discipline us just as a parent disciplines their child.  

Is there a particular sinful attitude or sinful action God is drawing your attention to in your own life? 

If so, he’s not doing it to bring you under condemnation. He is revealing it to you because of his faithful love for you. He wants to restore you, to draw you into a closer relationship with him and make you more like the person he’s created you to be, more like Jesus. 

If you want to know his healing restoration then won’t you just cry out to him, be honest with him, admit your weaknesses and ask him to save you. 

4. In our Storms v23-31 

Some went off to sea in ships, plying the trade routes of the world. They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action, his impressive works on the deepest seas. He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves. Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror. They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbour! Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 

Although these verses were written years before Jesus walked this earth, they remind me of a time when he and his disciples were out on a boat in the middle of a storm. The disciples were terrified whilst Jesus lay fast asleep below deck. They woke him up and he, being God, spoke the words and the wind died down and the sea became calm. 

There are times when you and I go through the storms of life, maybe you’re in the midst of one right now. 

What is your storm? What is it that is overwhelming you? What is causing you to feel like you’re going under the waves and drowning? Is it poor health? Money worries? Difficulties at work, school or college? Relationship problems? Maybe it’s a number of things which have built up and become too much for you to bear. 

I want you to know God is with you in the midst of your storm. He has not abandoned you to go through it alone. He is faithful and he loves you. His presence brings peace. He can still the storm and bring you safely to harbour. So cry out to him in your distress because he hears. 

In each of these situations, we learn that we can cry out to God in our troubles and he will rescue us from our distress. Whatever the situation God is always faithful and loving. Sometimes it may not feel that God is answering us as quickly as we would like him to. But these situations all show us that he is with us in it all and that he will answer if we will just cry out to him. It's in the challenges of life we can learn to trust him more. Each time, just like the Israelites, we learn to praise him for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for us. 

Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them (v8, 15, 21, 31) 

Each of these situations may look and feel hopeless when we're in the middle of them, but God can do the impossible and he can bring hope each time. With God, there is always hope. 

Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord. v43 

It was important for the Israelites to have a record of their history so they could look back to remind themselves and have a testimony to share with others about the faithful love of God. 

It’s important for us too. We need to read the Bible for ourselves so we can remind ourselves of the character of God, who he is and all he has done. It’s also important for us to look back over our own life experiences and remember that as God has shown his faithful love to us in the past, so he will continue to do so in our present and in our future. 

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you wherever he may send you, 

May he guide you through the wilderness, 

Protect you through the storm 

May he bring you home rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you 

May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors. 

Amen.

(A Blessing from the Celtic Book of Prayer )

To Think About:

Have you experienced any of the four different situations mentioned above? Are you able to look back and see evidence of the faithful love of God?

Are you going through one of these difficult times at the moment? Will you cry out to God and keep crying out to God until he answers you?

In v1-2 we read: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! 

Will you do this? Let’s be people who share about the challenges we have faced, how God has been with us in them and about the times he has brought us through. Our lives are a testimony of God’s faithful love. Each one of us has a story to share. Let’s tell our story!

Vicki

If you enjoyed reading this devotional blog, then you may like to know that I have two devotional books both of which are available to buy from Amazon. (The content of these books is material adapted from past blog posts.)

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"Dear Friend...52 Weekly Devotions to Encourage, Challenge and Inspire" Volume 2.

The book's format is the same as my first one with the added extra of room for journalling after each devotion. To learn more or to order a copy click here

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