Devotionals

Remember and Be Encouraged

by Cheryl Weber
01/20/25
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In Psalms 77:1-9 NLT, the psalmist bemoans the “deep trouble” he is in and how he cried out to God again and again but received no response. In an agony of fear he asks, “Has the Lord rejected me forever  . . . Have his promises permanently failed?” (vs. 7-9)

Have you ever felt God has forgotten you and left you to go down for the third time?  Life can overwhelm us with troubles that appear stronger and more real than God’s presence and power. Nothing makes sense according to our understanding of a good and just heavenly Father. In Matthew 8:23-27, the panicked disciples couldn’t believe Jesus had gone to sleep leaving them to cope with a tremendous storm at sea. They cried, “Jesus, don’t you care that we're going to die?” His response was to calm the storm and rebuke them for their lack of faith. Yet even Jesus, as he died on the cross, cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46

When we cling to God’s goodness and sovereignty, determined to trust his faithfulness (Psalms 16:8) and his work on our behalf (Romans 8:28) though circumstances scream at us to give up, our faith grows the most (1 Peter 1:6-7). In impossible times, we can find encouragement when we remember God’s goodness and blessings, just as the psalmist did beginning in verse 11 of Psalms 77: “But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago .. .  Is there any god as mighty as you?  

Let’s take our focus off our troubles and put it on the Lord, on his love and power, his reassuring words of Scripture. (Psalm 46:1, John 16:33, Isaiah 26:3, Isaiah 43:2) He is ready to help us today and in the future and he will walk with us through the valley of the shadow until we emerge on the other side. (Psalms 23:4)

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, I choose to trust you no matter how bleak things look. Help me to persevere and to endure until you take me through. AMEN