Life can be overwhelming. What do we do when it become too hard for us to handle? Has today been easy or hard, a good day or one filled with challenges?
If we are facing challenges or difficult circumstance, how can we maintain hope? I was overwhelmed the other day by circumstances and this was the question I was asking. My husband listened for a couple of minutes after he came home from work, and then decided we had to pray. (He didn’t think I could go to sleep if I didn’t spend some time seeking the Lord, about the situation.)
One of the things that has helped me handle hard circumstances is realizing that the Bible was not written by people who had easy lives. Paul wrote most of his letters from prison, he was not on vacation, he was in jail. Moses led the people, but almost wore himself out, until his father-in-law told him to get help. He was judging the entire nation of Israel, every matter large or small. He father-in-law told him to appoint elders. The story of Joseph in the Bible talks about him as Pharoah’s right-hand-man, but before that he was sold into slavery and thrown into prison. So the advice in the Bible does not come from an ivory tower: it comes from day-to-day battles, amidst the sometimes cruel circumstance of life.
Several scriptures come to mind.
1Peter 5:6, 7 Humble yourselves therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.
We have a caring God. We do not have to carry our anxieties alone. He is there for us. We can rest. We can put off anxiety; but not by ignoring it, not by pretending it doesn’t exist. I’m so glad we can say life hurts; we don’t have to pretend everything is all right. We handle anxieties by putting our cares into hands that are bigger than ours.
We know He is always going to be there for us.
Hebrews 13:5, 6 Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
Remember that the Lord is there for you, and that you will never leave you.
copyright: K Carswell, 2020
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by Permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible, Holman CSB and HCSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
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