He who trusts in the Lord...

         ...mercy shall surround him!

Some years ago, I was suffering from a setback from a chronic health issue. This particular Saturday morning, I felt just awful. I wanted to crawl back in bed for the day. The trouble was, I needed to take our young daughter to her weekly county horse program, something you simply could not miss. It ran from very early in the morning for half the day. Due to the nature of the program, the parent stayed the whole time, in the barn and out, winter or summer.

This day, my husband could not take her because he had to work. And, it was winter, a freezing cold day, something that could challenge the heartiest of souls in the mostly outdoor horse classes.

I could hardly face the day, yet I had no choice. So in my Bible and prayer time that morning, I really cried out to the Lord. Help! How can I do this? 

As I read, a verse just leaped off the page into my heart:  

“But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.” ~ Ps. 32:10 NKJV 

 

        Mercy! That’s what I needed, big-time. The promise was it would surround me. I could see myself wrapped in a blanket of mercy, the Lord enabling me, helping me feel better, giving me strength. Getting me through this challenging day.

The condition, though, was trust. Did I trust Him to do this? Would He actually come through for me? I prayed and said, “Yes, Lord, I choose to trust You according to this promise. You know my situation and I need Your help. I am going to go out and meet the day, expecting that somehow Your mercy will carry me through. Thank You, in Jesus’ Name, amen.” I felt an expectant faith rise in my heart as I prayed, and sensed God’s reassuring presence. 

We got to the arena and I settled on the freezing bleacher in the cold winter sunshine. I was soon absorbed in watching my daughter’s class go through their drill practice, and before I knew it, a few hours had passed. 

Suddenly, I realized that my body felt just fine; none of the distracting symptoms and weakness were there. He had done it! That cocoon of mercy had simply cancelled the troubles. I enjoyed the whole day with strength, and marvelled for long afterward at the little miracle I had received. It gave me a new confidence in the Lord and a strong lesson for my walk with Him. 

The Lord is so aware of every detail of our lives and is able to provide answers for them all. In case we question that, the Word is filled with promises specific to every need. I encourage you (and myself again!) to step out in faith today for whatever you are dealing with, trusting His Word. He delights in your confidence in Him, and will surround you--in your specific situation--with His loving mercy.

Bible study:  Psalm 32:10, Psalm 52:8-9, 2 Corinthians 1:3, Hebrews 4:16

Photo by Dunys Nevozhai on Unsplash

THROUGH the sea

If you find yourself facing a "Red Sea" trouble today and you can’t see a way out, I’d like to encourage you--God's way of deliverance is often THROUGH the sea.

You may remember the Bible story in Exodus 14. Moses had been sent by God to deliver His people from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Through a series of warnings and disastrous plagues, the pharaoh finally agreed to let them go.

They left, led by the Lord for a land of promise and goodness. But after three days, they came to a seemingly impossible barrier: the Red Sea. To make matters worse, the pharaoh had changed his mind and was thundering across the desert after them with his entire army of chariots and armed soldiers.

You can imagine the terror that pounded in the hearts of the Israelites. There was no way out--either forward or backward.  (Ever feel that way?)

Then God moved! He commanded a fierce wind to blow all night, pushing the water back in a path across the entire sea. Picture it--a wall of water on either side, dry land on the bottom. Then He set a cloud of fire behind His people, preventing the army from coming near them.

In the morning, He commanded them to cross through the sea to the other side.

Again, consider their options:  go forward and possibly drown, or stay and be annihilated by the army. But urged to take the bold step of faith, down they went into the dry seabed--and every last one of them made it safely to the other side.

God then removed the wall of fire, and the whole army charged after the people. But what was the Israelites' way of deliverance became the army's death sentence. God released the walls of water and the whole army was drowned.

Encouragement to us

If we can pull back a bit and see God's way in this story, it can change our fear and desperation to confidence and peace in Him.

The key is to remember…

• God had promised to deliver them and take them to a place of blessing and peace.
• His way was THROUGH the sea, not around it.
• This plan was not only to deliver, but to use the seeming disaster to end the threat of destruction forever.
• The people did not have to DO anything in their own deliverance except to trust God's Word and obey it. He did the work, He got the glory.

Whatever you're going through, take heart! Remember that the Word says God never changes. He loves you. He knows all about your problem. He is good and has a wonderful plan of blessing in mind for you. Don't be alarmed if you see a Red Sea before you and enemies chasing you from behind. Trust Him, obey what He tells you to do, and watch Him do a wondrous work for you! He will see you through safely through to the other side.

Bible study:  Exodus 14, Hebrews 13:8, I Peter 5:6-7, Isaiah 43:2, Romans 15:5