A Time For Everything

"God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed." - Ecclesiastes 3:17

It’s a powerful reminder that when trouble comes—as they always do—you can respond with confidence, trusting that God is at work behind the scenes.

Not Without Hope

I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. —Exodus 6:6

When trouble seeks to rob your very breath,
When tragedy hits hard and steals your days,
Recall that Christ endured the sting of death;
He gives us hope, and merits all our praise.

No one is hopeless whose hope is in God.

Be Still...Do Not Fear!

Read Exodus 12:31--14:14

Link: Why God Allows Suffering?

Humanly speaking, predicaments are terrible experiences. If you stay in one long enough, you will begin to question the very roots of your faith. By and by you'll begin to look for someone to blame; usually it'll be somebody in leadership.

That's why I am extremely impressed with Moses' response. He didn't say, as most are prone to say, "God helps those who help themselves." People think that familiar saying comes from the Bible. It doesn't. It's from the pit. No, God helps the helpless!

Note Moses' more biblical response in verse 13: "Do not fear!" What strange counsel. Can't you hear his fellow Israelites? "Hey, Moses, the Egyptians are around the corner. They've got chariots and bows and arrows and pointy spears. And you're saying, 'Don't fear'? What's the matter with you, man? Do you need a change in your eyeglass prescription? Can't you see they're coming? God, save us from this near-sighted shepherd!"

"Oh, I see them fine," Moses replied. "But I'm still saying to you, Don't fear!"

But Moses isn't done. After telling them not to be afraid, he has a second piece of counsel for his followers: "Stand still." And a third: "Watch." And a fourth: "The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent."

Now, there's a prescription for people in an inescapable predicament! Don't be afraid, stand still and watch God come through. He knows the predicament. He is simply waiting for us to calm down and keep silent. When you are in a cul-de-sac, led by God to that tight place, it is there you will discover some phenomenal surprises designed just for you. 

Don't be afraid. Stand still. Watch Him work. Keep quiet. It's then that He does His best work on our behalf. He takes over! He then handles our predicament opposite the way we'd do it. The Lord is tapping His foot, waiting for us to wait.

by Charles R. Swindoll

The Agony Of Prayer

And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44)

Prayer is not difficult to understand. It is difficult to do. When was the last time your heart so grieved for those you were interceding for that your entire body agonized along with your mind and heart? (Hebrews 5:7)

We are a generation that avoids pain at all costs. This is why there are so few intercessors. Most Christians operate on the shallowest levels of prayer, but God wants to take us into the deep levels of intercessory prayer that only a few ever experience. Deep, prolonged intercession is painful. It involves staying before God when everyone else has gone away or sleeps (Luke 22:45). It involves experiencing brokenness with the Father over those who continually rebel against Him. How many of us will experience this kind of fervent intercession?

We long for Pentecost in our lives and in our churches, but there is no Pentecost without Gethsemane and a cross. How do we become mature in our prayer life? By praying. When we do not feel like praying is precisely the time we ought to pray. There are no shortcuts to prayer. There are no books to read, seminars to attend, or inspirational mottoes to memorize that will transform us into intercessors. This comes only by committing ourselves to pray and then doing so.

Why not accept God’s invitation to become an intercessor? Don’t allow yourself to become satisfied with shallow, self-centered praying. Stay with God in prayer until He leads you to pray at the level He wants.