Articles

IS THERE TROUBLE ANYWHERE?

Stress and hopelessness imply troubles.

Confusion in finding peace and rest spell trouble.

Fearfulness and dismay suggest trouble.

It does not matter what the trouble is. Knowing the character of God can help you understand His position on what is happening around you: God is all knowing, all powerful, and is in total control.

God is all knowing 

Be not you therefore like unto them: for your Father know what things you have need of, before you ask him. Matthew 6:8

– a divine attribute, He knows everything that is happening to and around you. He understands the problem before you can even tell Him. He knows all secrets as the Bible states.

God is all powerful 

And Jesus looking upon them said "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible. Mark 10: 27

– a divine attribute, evidence of His power is displayed right in you: Who can put together a creation as complex as your own body? God has the power to dismiss what is happening or to let it continue its course. And if He decides to let it continue, He will equip you with strength and all that you need to go through trouble times. 

You just have to trust Him and let Him do as He pleases. In His word: He is our place of safety and our strength, always present when we are in trouble. Psalm 46: 1-3

Because He is present, we should not be afraid. Great disasters may happen: jobs could be lost when there are so many bills to be paid, even if you lose many things, and challenging situations try to overpower you. It is not the magnitude of the troubles that is significant, but the belief that God is present and faithful. He can give you victory over  trouble. 

God is in total control – There is evidence of His control in the rising and setting of the Sun, the bellows of the ocean waves, the change of seasons, etc. He is sovereign: He does what He wants to any situation according to His plans, regardless of what man thinks. One may question His way of handling a situation, but no one can stop things from going on the way He wants.

God may allow unfortunate things to happen over a space of time for His purpose (see Job), but He is in control. What does this have to do with what you are facing? Well, the fact that God is in control, you have to be still and know that He is God.

 “BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD” 

Psalm 46: 10

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

Let not your soul be distracted. Do not focus on neither the source of your trouble nor the trouble. Focus on God's available help that you do not deserve. The deceiver would propel you to enlarge the problem at the cost of turning your attention away from God. His strategy is intended to weaken you as well as to blind you from seeing who and where your strength comes from.

Know that Your strength comes from God who made heaven and earth. He will not suffer your foot to be moved…

The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, my God and my strength. My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18: 2

Know that your imagination can provide grounds to grow the trouble in exponential forms. This can leave you weak and hopeless. Therefore,

Pray that the LORD casts down all imagination and bring all your thoughts in captivity in obedience to Jesus Christ.

Channel all your thoughts to the source of your refuge and strength.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismay, for I am your God; I will help you, yes, I will strengthen you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Deuteronomy 31: 6

Be Aware: it’s not a man or a group of people who are going to give good and perfect things to you or do good and perfect things for you. Only God can do this for you.

Therefore,

with faith, come in conversation with God, make your supplication: 1. ask Him for that thing(s) you need; a job, or house… and trust He will give you what’s good for you. 2. Ask Him to do things, you are afraid you cannot do for yourself: protect you from the physical, emotional, mental dangers of the time and situation you live in.

Know that The Bible is God’s written information for living every day and facing every sort of problem that could ever arise in your life. In the Bible, there are many illustrations of how to place your faith in God and how to deal with present-day challenges.

If you haven’t read the Bible cover to cover, this is a time to consider reading it.

READ

                PRAY

                                  And FOCUS

                                                                On GOD!

Tip: Learn a verse to strengthen and keep you alert each day.

Deuteronomy 13:4

You shall walk (Strong no.3212) after the Lord your God and fear (Strong no.3372) Him and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

Walk after the Lord your God: Walking after the Lord your God is following God’s course of action to achieve His purpose for your life and to show you what is good and acceptable to Him. It involves trusting His leadership and guidance on all aspects of life. You can follow God by humbling yourself to obey His instructions for living which is found in the Bible. By praying and studying His word the Holy Spirit can assist you to apply its principles to your life to achieve a righteous life.

If you struggle with your faith or finding time for private prayer and worship, walking after the Lord your God can get you back on track to serve God faithfully again.

Psalm 23:3 mentions the benefits of walking with the Lord and so does Micah 6:8.

Psalm 23:3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Fear Him: this is about showing great respect for God; seeing Him as your revered Father; holy, without sin. As a child of God, you must strive to be holy: shun corrupt or perverse behaviours such as lying, lusting of the eyes, rudeness, idle disputes etc. that lead to ungodliness and eventually to spiritual darkness and death. Admiring Him for the awesome God He is, is part of revering Him; He is full of compassion. He heals our sicknesses and diseases; He is gracious: full of mercy and truth; we should love Him and not forget that He first loved us. To Fear God encompasses highly esteeming Him for His incredible work throughout creation. It is also giving Him all the glory. His greatness is immeasurable. He alone is worthy to be feared.

Psalm 34:9 Fear the LORD, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.

Proverbs 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

Keep His commandments: a prerequisite to keeping God’s commandments is knowing them (The Law: 10 Commandments God gave in antiquity to the nation of Israel). it is very important to God that you keep His laws he insists that you do this. They are sound principles for living even in today’s world. You stay on the track of righteous living when you keep God’s commandments. As guidelines they address all types of spiritual and social challenges. And tell you how to deal with them.

Keeping God’s commandments implies a fulfillment with good teaching from God. Apply them to your life: they will empower you to resist giving into all types of sins. Observe them: they are sacred instructions to produce righteous behavior in you.

Ezekiel 20:19 I am the LORD your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Leviticus 22:31 “Keep my commands and follow them. I am the LORD.

1 John 5:3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.

Obey His Voice: This is to be taken seriously. Do what God commands you to do. Disobedience to God can result in bad consequences that could have long-term impact on your life or the life of people connected to you: the first example of disobedience to God was that of Adam and Eve which has had a long-term impacted on the whole of mankind.  in 2 Samuel 15:6 King Saul lost His throne because of his disobedience. God refused to accept him as king of Israel. Some Christians find it hard to obey God because it literally it demands that you give up living according to your view of life,

Which may include worshiping God the way you think is good. When you obey God’s voice, you adhere to His instructions on how to live and worship Him.  

 The command to obey God’s voice takes many believers out of their comfort zone: it demands a change in habits:

 in thoughts- a renewal of the mind; in looking - a stop to the lust of the eyes; in worshiping - a refusal to idolizing people, money, nature etc. Doing what God orders you to do pleases Him. And you can be rewarded for it.

Notice the consequence of disobedience in Deuteronomy 28:62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God.

Serve Him: obedience to God and servanthood have to coexist in anyone who is a believer so that you would know to serve one master God alone. Serving God lovingly embraces ministering to others. God wants you to work faithfully for Him doing good works as a dutiful servant and out of your love for Him. Serve God by serving others through love and compassion. You can serve as a soldier in Christ army by letting people know about the true Gospel, providing useful Bible knowledge for their edification and protection in the faith.

Titus 1:9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Cleave to Him: Holding fast to God is not letting God out of your life: you can hold fast to God by maintaining your relationship with Him: when you walk after Him; fear Him; Keep His commandments; obey His voice and serve Him.

Abiding with God lets you remain living in His presence, growing in His word, be thankful for all His bountiful blessings. To cleave or hold fast to God is the result of valuing Him: you know that He is the source of your salvation, daily sanctification, joy, peace, strength and so on.

Joshua 23:8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now.

2 Kings 18:6-7 6 He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.

7And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.