“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1).
Do you truly believe this in your heart? Do you live your lives with the confidence and reassurance that this verse offers to all of us?
When I was a kid growing up, I always used to be scared of the dark, scary movies, or just things I struggled with emotionally or mentally. But my parents always had a word or quote that would help me reconfigure my thoughts and have the courage and reassurance to pull through whatever was troubling me. These days, especially as I’ve gotten older and experienced more of the challenges that life brings all of us, those reassuring moments from parents or others are far and few, due to them going through their life issues that we’re all promised (John 14:1 KJV). So, where does that leave you and me? Where do we get that reassurance from? Recently, someone told me that a lot of times, people tend to be bad comforters, providing unwanted advice that doesn’t necessarily help the one struggling. Even sometimes, the comforter ends up just exacerbating the situation for the one who needs to be comforted (Job 2:11 ESV). At times, life feels overwhelming, issues on every side coming at us, and our world seems dark and bleak. So what comforts do you resort to? What makes you feel secure or reassured when everything in your life is unsecured?
I can attest that God has performed so many great miracles in my life, like cleansing me of almost a decade-long addiction to sexual immorality, a suicide attempt, battles with suicidal ideation, curing me of cancer twice, and even bringing me back from the grips of death at birth. There are so many things and then some that God has done in my life that I shouldn’t question, doubt, or disbelieve that He won’t or can’t come through for me like He’s done in the past. However, I can’t sit here and say I’ve lived or had this type of confidence that (Psalms 46:1) reminds us to have in all the times that I’ve gone through my death valleys, low points in life, or moments of weakness that we all have at one point or another. I wish I could tell you I’ve passed every test that God has allowed in my life with flying colors, but I didn’t. Why? Because when the going gets tough, we sometimes forget and don’t remember God, or don’t go to Him altogether (Psalms 78:11-22 NLT). Why? Only each of us can speak to why we don’t in our own individual journeys or experiences, choose, trust, or remember God. And it all boils down to faith in someone greater than ourselves – God. Placing our confidence and faith in Him, and Him alone.
You might tell me or say to yourself, well, I have faith in God already, but my question to us all is, do you really? Even if that situation doesn’t turn out the way you hoped, do you still choose to put your faith in God? Many times I believe we pray to God for stuff, they don’t come true, we become discouraged, and we tend to put distance between ourselves and God (Romans 7:15-20 NIV), when in actuality, we should be doing the exact opposite. A while back I saw this definition of faith that I had never heard before, but God wanted me to see it. It stated that “Faith in God isn’t just faith that believes He’ll bless us with what we want – it’s also what empowers us to endure through trials and denials.”
Honestly, I was recently in a dark and dry place in my walk with God, no hope that He cared for me or heard my prayers, and I didn’t want to attempt or continue with the ways that we all try and meet God in the middle, such as prayer and fasting. I tried to run to the world, people, distractions, and all the things that Google puts under the umbrella of self-care, but it didn’t help. I was still hurting inside, thinking could no one save me from my internal and external struggles. And I was right, no one could save me. Only God could.
Not too long ago, I was talking with a friend because he was going through it, and I was going through it, and we resorted to the only thing we thought could help us in our times of need, which was prayer. And in the midst of us trying to meet God and give Him something to work with, God met me! God made me remember (Psalm 77:11-12 NLT) Him and all that He had brought me through. All of this made me come out of myself, my situations, and circumstances, and realize that the only way out of this period or issue in my life would have to be through God. Can you rest assured in that at the end of the day?
