Trust In The Lord - CHRISTIAN REP

The slide to despair

Mike Messerli — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:55:01 +0000

It happens quickly.

It happens easily.

At least it does with me.

Discouragement….

Disappointment….

Dejection….

Despondency…

Depression and then despair.

It’s a quick slide from the first thoughts of discouragement to the pit of despair. It happens so quickly that it’s often a surprise to find we have come to utter despair and hopelessness. David battled this just as many of us do. He wrote about it in Psalm 40.

1 I waited patiently for the LORD;

he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is the man

who makes the LORD his trust,

…

David described it well. The slide to despair feels like a slide on mud or wet clay. You can’t get your footing. Then suddenly you are in the pit of despair. Hopeless. Helpless. Alone….or so it seems. Although nothing may have changed in the real world you feel that your world has crumbled into ashes. It’s a difficult place to be. It’s a difficult place to get out of. Unless the Lord helps us we would most likely remain in the pit of despair. Some never get out. But God does help. He does give us the hand we need, the help we need. He does change our song from a dirge to a praise. He does lift us up. If you’re like me these slides to despair happen without warning….for no reason at all…and then you have to deal with the clouds of doom that fog your thoughts. The Psalms were David’s journals as he dealt with his own frequent descents into despair. Here are his directions for those of us in the pit today-

…

1 I will bless the LORD at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul will make its boast in the LORD;

The humble will hear it and rejoice.

3 O magnify the LORD with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces will never be ashamed.

6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him

And saved him out of all his troubles.

…

If you find yourself in the pit of despair look to the Lord. He will lift you out of the hopelessness. When it seems there’s no way out he will come to your rescue. The slide to despair is an easy one. The climb out is God’s work as we trust him. As one who frequently visits the pit I’m glad for a wonderful God who gives me hope and help when I need it most.

(Thank you, James, for your help this morning.)

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Walking With God

Mike Messerli — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 02:15:23 +0000

After many years of faith and a walk with God I’m learning that God’s will isn’t a path clearly marked out for years to come, but instead it’s guidance for the moment.

God’s will and direction for life are much like a GPS.

“In .3 miles turn left…” The directions of the GPS are as you need them.

Walking with God is much like that. It’s not a course revealed for the next 40 years, but a walk of steps and turns and moments. Each day is a new day of walking with God and finding his will for you in the moments, in the encounters of your life. The course, as it looks to you, might go around in circles for a bit, but God has a plan and it’s only revealed as we come to each turn in our course.

We are in Hawaii for a couple weeks and although I have never been here before we have found our way around easily with the help of our GPS. We don’t need to know the route, we simply need to obey the prompts of the sweet voice on the GPS and soon we arrive at our destination. God’s Spirit works in that same way as we walk with him through the day. We may not know all the turns and twists in our route, but simply need to trust the guidance we receive as we walk with God through the moments. Walking with God is a fascinating adventure. You never know who you will meet, where you will go, but it’s never boring.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make your paths straight.

Prov. 3:5-6

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Trust

Marie — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:08:02 +0000

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. [7] Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

Psalms 62: 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? [26] Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? [27] Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

What are you trusting Him for? Is it a for the well being of a child? Is it for your next mortgage payment? Is is for a job? Is it for your health and the horrid disease that is within you? We tend to carry around our burdens, not realizing how much that affects those that are around us. When we are not trusting, we are a potential stumbling block, a jagged dangerous rock – instead of a stepping stone.

Remember WHO you are trusting. He calmed the raging seas with a whisper of “peace, be still.” He spoke this world into existance. He gives you life, and gives is abundantly. He gave you the greatest gift of all when he allowed His son to be our sacrifice for our sins.

You trust Him with your soul, your most prized possession. What about everything else? Are you going to wait till you reach rock bottom before you call out and start trusting? Why go there? Reach out now. Grab ahold of the Lord daily and do not let go until He meets your need.

Your Father is asking you to come and rest in Him. You don’t have to walk around weary.

Do you trust Him? Talk to me. Tell me, what are you trusting HIM for?

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