I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of his glories and grace. I will boast of all his kindness to me. Let all who are discouraged take heart. Let us praise the Lord together, and exalt his name. For I cried to him and he answered me! He freed me from all my fears. Others, too, were radiant at what he did for them. Theirs was no downcast look of rejection! This poor man cried to the Lord — and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles. For the Angel of the Lord guards and rescues all who reverence him, … for everyone who does this has everything he needs. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack for any good thing.
Psalm 34: 1-7, 9-10 (LB)
Scripture: Psalm 34
When we are experiencing trials, we can become really inward focused. It does us good to see how others handle their trials. This devotion looks at Psalm 34, which gives one such example of how to handle the trials we face.
Things were not going well for me. I had so many problems, and they seemed to grow each day. I had never encountered problems like these before. I didn’t know how to handle them.
I felt like I was just spinning my wheels and getting in deeper all the time. I didn’t feel like I had everything I needed. I sure didn’t feel like I had a guardian angel watching over me. I felt so all alone, so cut off from everyone. My problems were crowding out all my desires to enjoy anyone else’s company.
And things didn’t look like they were going to get better for a while.
Then, in all my despair, I saw a friend. He was going through some rough times, too. But he looked happy! His problems were not getting him down like mine were tugging at me.
So, I asked him what his secret was. How was he able to keep such a positive attitude when everything around him was in chaos? You know what he said? Every day when he got up, he praised the Lord. He asked the Lord to guide him.
And the Lord was leading him out of his troubles. He told me that nothing was impossible for the Lord (Lk 1: 37). No problem is too big for Him to help us with. And no problem is too small so that we can’t take it to him. All we have to do is ask for this help and believe He has control of the situation.
I tried it too. And you know what? No, God didn’t take my troubles away. But He is helping me through them. He took away my fears. He is providing me strength to meet these problems. Why don’t you try it sometime? All you have to do is trust in Him and believe in Him. Then He will let you lean on Him.
Gracious Heavenly Father. There are many obstacles in our paths as we go through this life. So many times, we try to face these problems alone. We do not ask Your guidance through these trials. And we fail, Lord. We become discouraged because these problems are too much for us. Lord, we ask Your help in meeting these trials. We know that everything that happens to us is in Your control. We realize You have a plan for our lives, and the problems we are experiencing now are all part of Your plan. It may be Your Will to remove these obstacles, but Your love will guide us through them if you don’t. We praise You that You have the strength to carry us through. Amen.
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