Thoughts for Life: When All Seems Lost

Leslie Koh- In just six months, Gerald's life fell apart. An economic crisis destroyed his business and wealth, while a tragic accident took his son's life.

Overcome by shock, his mother had a heart attack and died, his wife went into depression, and his two young daughters remained inconsolable. All he could do was echo the words of the psalmist, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1). (Google image, Signs of depression)

The only thing that kept Gerald going was the hope that God, who raised Jesus to life, would one day deliver him and his family from their pain to an eternal life of joy.

It was a hope that God would answer his desperate cries for help. In his despair, like the psalmist David, he determined to trust God in the midst of his suffering. He held on to the hope that God would deliver and save him (vv. 2-5).

That hope sustained Gerald. Over the years, whenever he was asked how he was, he could only say, "Well, I'm trusting God."

God honored that trust, giving Gerald the comfort, strength, and courage to keep going through the years. His family slowly recovered from the crisis, and soon Gerald welcomed the birth of his first grandchild.

His cry is now a testimony of God's faithfulness. "I'm no longer asking, 'Why have you forsaken me?' God has blessed me."

When it seems there's nothing left, there's still hope.

"Whenever I feel abandoned and alone, I cling to the hope You've given me through Christ's resurrection, that I will be delivered to eternal joy one day."

(Our Daily Bread 5/5/19)

Let's pray-

Father, our hearts go out to folks like Gerald, as we think about the things he had to bare; having lost his business, wealth and his son. His wife's depression, the loss of his mother over what all happened, and his daughters being unable to be consoled, drove him to ask if You even cared.

The only thing that kept him going was the hope that You, Who raised Jesus to life, would also some day deliver him and his family from their pain to eternal life and joy.

He had hope that You would answer his desperate cries for help, and he was determined to trust You in the midst of his suffering. He held onto the hope that You would deliver and save him. We're thankful to see that You did come through for him and his family; we're not surprised one bit, as You are Faithful, Compassionate and You hear our cries of desperation.

We humbly ask that we also hold onto You through our various trials, though not quite as drastic as Gerald's no doubt, but in times of the testing of our faith, may we remain strong, leaning on Jesus to help and to guide us.

In His name we pray this. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

2 Cor. 3:17 (NKJV) "Now the Lord is the Spirit;
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

2 Cor. 1:3, 4 (NKJV) "Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and
God of all comfort, (v. 4) who comforts us in all our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who
are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we
ourselves are comforted by God."

1 Cor. 16:13 (NKJV) "Watch, stand fast in the faith,
be brave, be strong."

Today's quote-

~ S. D. Gordon- "God has fathomless skill, and measureless patience, and a love utterly beyond both. He is ever working out the best thing possible under every circumstance. He could oftentimes do more, and do it in much less time if our human wills were more pliant to His. He can be trusted. And of course trust means trust in the darkest dark where you cannot see." (p. 42 of QUIET TALKS ON PRAYER.)

~ Xochitl Dixon- "When we receive Jesus as our Savior, He gives us His Holy Spirit (1 John 4:13-15). As the Spirit helps us know and rely on God's love, He makes us more like Jesus (vv. 16-17). Growing in trust and faith can gradually eliminate fear, simply because we know without a doubt that God loves us deeply and completely (vv. 18-19).

As we experience God's personal and unconditional love for us, we grow and can risk relating to Him and others with fearless love." (Our Daily Bread 5/30/19)

Did you know?

~ Folks need someone to believe in them in order to grow into their potential.

~ When we speak about our identity in Christ, we're prone to live from that place of faith and surrender.

Today's guest post-

I Always Fail

Ken Ebright-

"It seems as if I’ve always had a proficiency at failing.

Failing started when I was in grade school. One subject I had trouble with was math. My teacher’s rule was that if you got more than three problems wrong, you had to correct them until you had them correct. The kids in school also picked on me, telling me I was a dummy.
One day, my dad told me if I didn’t get better grades, I would end up as a dishwasher for the rest of my life . . . The world may not give me any grace, but the Lord Jesus does."

16 - 20 of 100 one-line Scriptures to learn together-

16. Ps. 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

17. Ps. 90:12 "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

18. Ps. 141:3 "Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips."

19. Prov. 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."

20. Ps. 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Upcoming posts-

#45 Praying "One For Another"
11th- Tuesday's post by Samuel Chadwick

#46 The Intercession in Heaven
13th- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick

A Plea for God's Help
15th- Saturday's post by Cheri Fuller

#47 The Intercession of the Secret Place
18th- Tuesday's post by Samuel Chadwick