Hard Times
Title: Hard Times
Subject: Trials
May God bless you this day ... to know He is here!
Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
Have you ever felt this way? You stuck your neck out, crawled out on limb...however you may describe it, you put yourself at great risk for someone or some cause. But when all was said and done, it wasn't appreciated. No one thanked you for your effort or sacrifice. No one came to your rescue to fend off the blows, the hurt, or the scorn that came your way. You were helpless, vulnerable, an easy target.
The words highlighted above can be found twice in the Bible, once in the Old Testament and again in the New. They speak of great despair and hopelessness. The first time is in Psalms 44:22 and the writer is in deep anguish. He looks to God but in his sorrow can see no help. He cries out but hears nothing. He proclaims his trust in God but the words fail in his heart.
But now you have rejected and humbled us...You gave us up to be devoured like sheep...You sold your people for a pittance...You have made us a reproach to our neighbors...My disgrace is before me all day long, and my face is covered with shame...Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression? Psalms 44:9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 24
This is not a happy person. His confidence is deeply wounded. He is overwhelmed with the devastation of his situation. He still calls on God for help but inside he screams, "Where are you?"
In life there are many difficulties. We all face them. Some of us may have to deal with more severe ones than others, but I've discovered something in the years I've been on this planet. The severity of difficulties are relative to the individual and the circumstances of the moment.
For example, this has been a very stressful week for me. Last week's Note resulted in angry responses and people demanding to be removed immediately from our email list. Then as we tried to handle these issues, the hard drive on my computer decided it was time to die. We may have lost two months of work, as well as every email sent to me in that time. There have also been the usual stresses that come with expanding the ministry, funding, increasing work, and trying to meet publishing deadlines. And then everything ended with the rejection of someone I've tried to help and for whom I care very much.
Such things easily lead us into despair. But in our misery, all we have to do is to turn on the news to see much worse. The screen is filled with images of death and destruction. Men and women crying because an enemy's weapons have killed their children. Towns swept away in a flood. People starving. People hating. And yet while our lot may not be as bad as theirs, we still grieve in our own personal torment.
Those first words of despair appear again, this time within Romans 8:28-39. Here Paul also mentions the tremendous difficulties that can come in life. But He has something the Psalmist did not. He has the answer! He knows from where his Hope will rise! He knows where to find the love of God! Someone had come since the time of the Psalmist, and His name is Jesus.
Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:34b-35, 37-39
Whatever our trials, however dire our situation, and wherever life may find us, the love of God is still here. Difficulties seek to drive a wedge of discontent between us and our heavenly Father. But though we may know the sorrow and frustration of the Psalmist, we can never be separated from the love of God. We will cry, yet He will dry our tears. We will feel alone, yet He is always with us, even to the very end of the age! (Matthew 28:20b)
Take care and be God's,
Chuck
Ciloa ... Encouraging one another as long as it is called Today!
Ciloa is a registered trademark of Ciloa, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
A Note of Encouragement is a copyright interest held by Ciloa, Inc.
Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
Have you ever felt this way? You stuck your neck out, crawled out on limb...however you may describe it, you put yourself at great risk for someone or some cause. But when all was said and done, it wasn't appreciated. No one thanked you for your effort or sacrifice. No one came to your rescue to fend off the blows, the hurt, or the scorn that came your way. You were helpless, vulnerable, an easy target.
The words highlighted above can be found twice in the Bible, once in the Old Testament and again in the New. They speak of great despair and hopelessness. The first time is in Psalms 44:22 and the writer is in deep anguish. He looks to God but in his sorrow can see no help. He cries out but hears nothing. He proclaims his trust in God but the words fail in his heart.
But now you have rejected and humbled us...You gave us up to be devoured like sheep...You sold your people for a pittance...You have made us a reproach to our neighbors...My disgrace is before me all day long, and my face is covered with shame...Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression? Psalms 44:9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 24
This is not a happy person. His confidence is deeply wounded. He is overwhelmed with the devastation of his situation. He still calls on God for help but inside he screams, "Where are you?"
In life there are many difficulties. We all face them. Some of us may have to deal with more severe ones than others, but I've discovered something in the years I've been on this planet. The severity of difficulties are relative to the individual and the circumstances of the moment.
For example, this has been a very stressful week for me. Last week's Note resulted in angry responses and people demanding to be removed immediately from our email list. Then as we tried to handle these issues, the hard drive on my computer decided it was time to die. We may have lost two months of work, as well as every email sent to me in that time. There have also been the usual stresses that come with expanding the ministry, funding, increasing work, and trying to meet publishing deadlines. And then everything ended with the rejection of someone I've tried to help and for whom I care very much.
Such things easily lead us into despair. But in our misery, all we have to do is to turn on the news to see much worse. The screen is filled with images of death and destruction. Men and women crying because an enemy's weapons have killed their children. Towns swept away in a flood. People starving. People hating. And yet while our lot may not be as bad as theirs, we still grieve in our own personal torment.
Those first words of despair appear again, this time within Romans 8:28-39. Here Paul also mentions the tremendous difficulties that can come in life. But He has something the Psalmist did not. He has the answer! He knows from where his Hope will rise! He knows where to find the love of God! Someone had come since the time of the Psalmist, and His name is Jesus.
Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:34b-35, 37-39
Whatever our trials, however dire our situation, and wherever life may find us, the love of God is still here. Difficulties seek to drive a wedge of discontent between us and our heavenly Father. But though we may know the sorrow and frustration of the Psalmist, we can never be separated from the love of God. We will cry, yet He will dry our tears. We will feel alone, yet He is always with us, even to the very end of the age! (Matthew 28:20b)
Take care and be God's,
Chuck
Ciloa ... Encouraging one another as long as it is called Today!
Ciloa is a registered trademark of Ciloa, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
A Note of Encouragement is a copyright interest held by Ciloa, Inc.
