Trust In The Lord
Bill Petite August 13 2017
Now, let's stop here for a minute and think about how today's world leaders might handle this situation. First, there would probably be some back and forth verbal threats or demands. Maybe the UN might get involved and side with one or the other while making senseless remarks which would resolve nothing. It is possible the smaller nation would make threats they couldn't back up and finally, there would be sanctions put in place on the aggressor. So what is solved, what is settled and who took time to pray? Was God ever invited in to help with the solution? This is our world today. But, God had a different plan for Judah in this situation.
Things were looking pretty bleak for Judah. But, Hezekiah submitted to God and sent word to Isaiah and asked for prayer concerning this situation. God already had the solution. He was already planning his move. When Isaiah was given the Kings message, the Lord had already given him the message to deliver back to the king. What did Hezekiah do next? He prayed! He went to the Lord in prayer and cried out for His help. And God answered; the death angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers that night and the Assyrians pulled back, suffering a defeat which they had never experienced before. Judah never lifted a finger in their own defense (other than pray). It was God Himself who fought for them and protected them. He delivered them from this extremely fearful situation.
In Acts 12, Peter is to be executed the next morning but is awakened by an angel who releases him from his chains and sets him free. Peter thought he was having a dream. But, the Lord had much work for Peter to do. The difference here is Peter was ready to die for Jesus in the morning and was sound asleep. Herod had planned to execute him as a political move and gain favor with the people who were supporting this. James had already been beheaded and Herod witnessed the approval of the people so, he decided he would also execute Peter and gain some bonus points. But, this was not part of God's plan and it didn't happen.
The point is God is our sovereign Lord; if it is not part of His plan, it won't happen. I'm speaking of the type of activity stated above. We have different circumstances in our lives every day. We face difficulties and afflictions of many kinds but when it is something the enemy is attempting to derail our service to the Lord, He will intervene for us. As we pray and ask God for His guidance and direction through these trials, He hears us and already knows what He is going to do before we ask. We must never lose sight of the fact that we must be praying about ours and others dire situations.
And, when the bully comes knocking on our door, we must always remember that God is right there and already knows the outcome. He already has the answer to our problems. We need to wait on Him and trust in Him and not take matters into our own hands.
The account of the Assyrian attempt to invade Judah is a classic example of how we need to handle these types of situations in our own personal lives. In our Christian world today, we need to pray and ask others to pray also. Seek council from Christian leaders and pastors and keep on praying.
Don't believe the bully's (I use this term just as a general type of affliction not necessarily a person) lie that God's not there, God is dead, God can't help you or there is no God. Our major universities are filled with atheistic professors and teachers who insist there is no God or He is an imaginary character which parents have force fed on their children. Don't buy into any of these lies! God is right there with you, or us, as we walk through these times of despair.
Now, many will say, "Well, these are just stories from an old book which was actually written by men a long time ago and has no relevance to us in our modern times." True, these are accounts from the old book we refer to as the Bible or God's word. But, it doesn't stop there. Christians all around the world can attest to the way Jesus, our God, has worked in their lives. He has done some small things which played out big in some lives and He has done some big, miraculous things in others lives. Jesus is our God, our savior and our Lord. He died in our place so we don't have to. He has offered us salvation and eternal life and for me, that is a miracle in my life!
I have witnessed the change which God has brought to the lives of former gang bangers, drug addicted people, hard core criminals, atheists and in my own life as a former alcoholic. Yes, I said former. I was clinically declared an alcoholic, something I had denied for years. But when I was saved, Jesus took away any and all desires I had for booze! It was gone and I have been saved for thirty-three years and have not had even the smallest desire to take a drink. It never has entered my mind or thinking! God is real and He is there for us. When I asked Him to save me and rescue me from my addiction, He was right there and it was immediate. He didn't put me on hold; He didn't tell me there are circumstances I would have to meet or He would have to check out my qualifications. It was done right there and I was saved! That's the same God who delivered Judah from the Assyrians. There is no problem so big that God can't handle or deliver us from. Trust in Him.
As Christians, we are going to face trials and afflictions, attacks from the enemy to make our lives miserable. But, we have a God who loves us and a God who will protect us and deliver us from these attacks until it is time for us to go home. Trust in Jesus, He has never let me down and He has always been there for me.
We live in a very unsettled world. There are so many crazy things going on in the world today and it can become very overwhelming, if we allow it to. Just a glance at the daily news can bring a sense of fear and concern for our own well being. I have spoken to many people concerning today's world events and how they perceive the way it could effect their lives. Many of them are unsettled by the terrorist activities or the threats of start up nuclear countries. And, there are a few who simply reply, "God's in control; I can trust Him." That is the bottom line answer.
One of my favorite stories of God's defense of Israel in the Old Testament is found in 2 Kgs. 18:13-37, 2 Chr. 32:1-19 and Isa. 36-37. It concerns the invasion of Judah by the king of Assyria. This is a classic bullying story. Assyria had conquered the many nations surrounding Judah and had already taken the Northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity (all part of God's plan). The Assyrian Chief of Staff met with officials from Judah and made their demands. They questioned the officials from Judah as to whom they were putting their trust. Was it Egypt, the broken reed? Or did the officials really believe that talking would outweigh the Assyrian military strength? And lastly, did Judah really believe that God could rescue them from this situation. After all, King Hezekiah had offended God by tearing down the shrines and alters and forcing the people to worship in Jerusalem. This rings of the lie which Satan told Eve in the garden.
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”God never said they could not eat of any tree but of the one He specified and, of course, the lie concerning death. Satan will always lie to trip us up over the truth of God's will and plan for us. In a similar way, this Chief of Staff proved he really didn't know God or His business. It was right for Hezekiah to removed the shrines and alters. The people were worshipping false gods and idols. This Chief of Staff from Assyria was challenging God Himself by insinuating the officials from Judah could not trust Him. The Assyrian called out to the people of Judah and warned them they could not trust God or believe what Hezekiah was telling them. He also compared the God of Israel to the false/idol gods of the surrounding nations which they had conquered, telling the Israelites their God was no more able to protect them than these false gods were able to protect these other nations.
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Gen. 3:1-5
Now, let's stop here for a minute and think about how today's world leaders might handle this situation. First, there would probably be some back and forth verbal threats or demands. Maybe the UN might get involved and side with one or the other while making senseless remarks which would resolve nothing. It is possible the smaller nation would make threats they couldn't back up and finally, there would be sanctions put in place on the aggressor. So what is solved, what is settled and who took time to pray? Was God ever invited in to help with the solution? This is our world today. But, God had a different plan for Judah in this situation.
Things were looking pretty bleak for Judah. But, Hezekiah submitted to God and sent word to Isaiah and asked for prayer concerning this situation. God already had the solution. He was already planning his move. When Isaiah was given the Kings message, the Lord had already given him the message to deliver back to the king. What did Hezekiah do next? He prayed! He went to the Lord in prayer and cried out for His help. And God answered; the death angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers that night and the Assyrians pulled back, suffering a defeat which they had never experienced before. Judah never lifted a finger in their own defense (other than pray). It was God Himself who fought for them and protected them. He delivered them from this extremely fearful situation.
In Acts 12, Peter is to be executed the next morning but is awakened by an angel who releases him from his chains and sets him free. Peter thought he was having a dream. But, the Lord had much work for Peter to do. The difference here is Peter was ready to die for Jesus in the morning and was sound asleep. Herod had planned to execute him as a political move and gain favor with the people who were supporting this. James had already been beheaded and Herod witnessed the approval of the people so, he decided he would also execute Peter and gain some bonus points. But, this was not part of God's plan and it didn't happen.
The point is God is our sovereign Lord; if it is not part of His plan, it won't happen. I'm speaking of the type of activity stated above. We have different circumstances in our lives every day. We face difficulties and afflictions of many kinds but when it is something the enemy is attempting to derail our service to the Lord, He will intervene for us. As we pray and ask God for His guidance and direction through these trials, He hears us and already knows what He is going to do before we ask. We must never lose sight of the fact that we must be praying about ours and others dire situations.
And, when the bully comes knocking on our door, we must always remember that God is right there and already knows the outcome. He already has the answer to our problems. We need to wait on Him and trust in Him and not take matters into our own hands.
The account of the Assyrian attempt to invade Judah is a classic example of how we need to handle these types of situations in our own personal lives. In our Christian world today, we need to pray and ask others to pray also. Seek council from Christian leaders and pastors and keep on praying.
Don't believe the bully's (I use this term just as a general type of affliction not necessarily a person) lie that God's not there, God is dead, God can't help you or there is no God. Our major universities are filled with atheistic professors and teachers who insist there is no God or He is an imaginary character which parents have force fed on their children. Don't buy into any of these lies! God is right there with you, or us, as we walk through these times of despair.
Now, many will say, "Well, these are just stories from an old book which was actually written by men a long time ago and has no relevance to us in our modern times." True, these are accounts from the old book we refer to as the Bible or God's word. But, it doesn't stop there. Christians all around the world can attest to the way Jesus, our God, has worked in their lives. He has done some small things which played out big in some lives and He has done some big, miraculous things in others lives. Jesus is our God, our savior and our Lord. He died in our place so we don't have to. He has offered us salvation and eternal life and for me, that is a miracle in my life!
I have witnessed the change which God has brought to the lives of former gang bangers, drug addicted people, hard core criminals, atheists and in my own life as a former alcoholic. Yes, I said former. I was clinically declared an alcoholic, something I had denied for years. But when I was saved, Jesus took away any and all desires I had for booze! It was gone and I have been saved for thirty-three years and have not had even the smallest desire to take a drink. It never has entered my mind or thinking! God is real and He is there for us. When I asked Him to save me and rescue me from my addiction, He was right there and it was immediate. He didn't put me on hold; He didn't tell me there are circumstances I would have to meet or He would have to check out my qualifications. It was done right there and I was saved! That's the same God who delivered Judah from the Assyrians. There is no problem so big that God can't handle or deliver us from. Trust in Him.
As Christians, we are going to face trials and afflictions, attacks from the enemy to make our lives miserable. But, we have a God who loves us and a God who will protect us and deliver us from these attacks until it is time for us to go home. Trust in Jesus, He has never let me down and He has always been there for me.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Prov 3:5-6
I trust in Jesus, my great deliverer, my strong defender, the Son of God. I trust in Jesus blessed redeemer, my Lord forever, the Holy One. Third Day, Trust In Jesus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyzb2oM_UPI
posted by Bill @ 9:10 AM
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