In the second chapter of Luke , we read that Mary and Joseph, like so many of their countrymen, were making the annual trip to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. Jerusalem was a little over 60 miles south of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, so this was no doubt a trip of at least 2 to 3 days by foot. We get from the context (verse 44) that they traveled in a larger group. Group travel was customary for longer trips like this in those days. I expect that it afforded a certain measure of mutual protection for the travelers; and I imagine it allowed for a certain economy of effort as food, clothing, and supplies would need to be carried along. There would have been carts perhaps, and animals to help carry the loads. Additionally, I could imagine that traveling in such a caravan would provide for mutual companionship on such a long trip, and this might have been a welcome and much anticipated part of the journey. We read in verse 41, “Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.”

Now, the trip to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover was not just an overnight visit. The Passover was observed on the 14th day of the first month of the year, and it was followed beginning on the 15th day by the seven days of unleavened bread, (Numbers 28:16,17). So, Mary, Joseph and Jesus would have been in Jerusalem at least a week. At the end of that time, when all were returning to their homes, we read that an oversight occurred which made for a few very anxious days for Mary and Joseph:
“And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and His mother knew not of it. But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him,” (verses 43-45). After leaving Jerusalem with the group returning home, Mary and Joseph went a full day’s journey before they realized Jesus was not among the group of travelers. This might seem strange, but consider that the group was large, and it would have been common for different age groups to walk and talk together; so the young people might not always have been with their parents. Thus, it might have been much easier to miss someone of the company than we might suppose at first glance. Now, when Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus was not with the group, they searched for Him first among their relatives and friends in the caravan, then they went back the day’s journey to try to find Him in Jerusalem. But, where might Jesus be found?

Can you imagine the panic that must have been rising in Mary’s and Joseph’s hearts as they searched from place to place around Jerusalem, retracing all their steps of the past week, and having no clue where the child might be found? Once when I was very young, I was separated from my parents for a while in a large department store in Davenport, Iowa. After some consideration, my mother knew exactly where to look for me—I was to be found in the toy department, amongst the electric trains as they ran through mountain tunnels, and down into the colorful and highly detailed railroad yard, alive with flashing lights and active crossing arms. This is where my family guessed they’d find me, and they were right! But, where would you look to find Jesus? I can only imagine Mary and Joseph’s frenzied thoughts as they tearfully went from place to place in that large, strange city, seeking for Jesus. How very sad that it took three days to think of looking in the one place where Jesus was so apt to be found—in the Temple, listening to the Word of God as it was being read and discussed. We read in verses 46 and 47, “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”

As believers, do we ever lose track of the Lord Jesus for a time? Do we ever get our eyes off Him, then go about feeling upset and alone, frantically seeking the comfort of His presence? Sadly enough, I believe that this can happen at times, even to Christians. We do live in a fallen world, and our adversary is actively seeking to distract us by taking our eyes off the Lord. He acts to intimidate us, and to discourage us by attacking where we might be vulnerable, in hopes of ruining our testimony and halting the spread of the Gospel. We read in Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Dear friend, have you experienced such an attack? Perhaps even now you are recoiling from a false accusation, or maybe some calamitous event or deep disappointment in your life is now preying on your mind. Unless we have taken up the whole armor of God, with our eyes fixed steadfastly on our Lord rather than the peril before us, our defenses will be weak, and we are open to such an attack. At times like this, our energies can be diverted away from prayer and reading of the Word, and our hours might instead be consumed with worry. In those times, it can seem as though we have lost His presence, even though He is always there with His own.

As we walk this wilderness path, communion with our Lord is so important to our peace and joy. If we allow sin and worldliness in our lives, our fellowship with the Lord is broken, and this too can be a most lonely and anxious time. I mentioned earlier the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and I believe there is something here for believers today that we should always keep in mind. During the 7 days following the Passover, the Israelite would have carefully removed all leaven from the home, and no leavened bread was to be eaten during this week. Leaven, in Scripture, signifies sin and worldliness. For believers today, how important it is to be diligent to remove the leaven of sin and worldliness in our daily walk. We read in 1 Corinthians 5:7,8, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”.

What a miserable experience it is when a child of God loses sight of the Lord Jesus; how lonely it is when we lose that sense of His presence because of fear and worry, or when our communion with Him is interrupted for even a short time by sin in our lives! So where is Jesus to be found at such times? I recall that the disciples on the road to Emmaus were perplexed and troubled in their hearts after that terrible scene at Calvary (Luke 24); being so violently and, apparently permanently separated from their Lord, their hearts were quite downcast, and they did not recognize Him when He came and joined their conversation. Then, the Lord Jesus opened the Scriptures to these heavy hearted disciples, and their hearts burned within them. He had been with them all along, but they didn’t realize this; at length, they recognized His presence with them as He was revealed to them in the Word. We read in Luke 24:32, “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?” It is in the Word of God that the Lord Jesus was revealed to them—the Scriptures tell of Jesus. Once recognized of His disciples, their joy was full.

My dear friends, if for any reason we have gotten our eyes off of the Lord Jesus, we must go back to the place where we lost sight of Him, and there seek communion with our Lord. As we read His Word, He talks to us; as we pray, we talk to Him. If we purge out the old leaven in our lives, and seek Him through prayer and the reading of His Word, we will soon find that He is there, sure enough—He is ever with us. My dear Christian friend, we are never alone. We read in Hebrews 13:5, “…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”. In Matthew 28:20, we read, “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”.

It was at the temple in Jerusalem where Mary and Joseph found Jesus. In verses 48 and 49 we read, “And when they saw Him, they were amazed: and His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought Me? wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” Mary rebuked Him because she and Joseph had been worried and had sought Him with tears. However, Jesus had not been disobedient in any way. He was simply doing the work that His Father had sent Him to do. And we read, “And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man,” (verses 50-53.

My dear friend, think about this: this 12 year old boy, Jesus, whom we have been reading about in Luke 2 was the very Son of God. He was truly a boy, yet He was also Emmanuel, or “God with us”. It was by His voice that all the universe was called into existence; but, He laid His glory aside and was born in a humble manger as a baby. As true man, the Lord Jesus had to grow and learn like other children, yet He was subject to His mother Mary and to Joseph, and He returned home with them to complete His years of growing up. As the Son of God, the Lord Jesus delighted to do His Father’s will, even at this early age; that will would one day take Him to Calvary’s cross to lay down His life for poor, ruined sinners like you and me, that through faith in Him, we might be saved and have life.

Have you as yet believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? If so, then you know that you are a child of God. We read in John 1: 10-12: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:”. Do you believe on the name of the Son of God? It is my prayer for you that you believe even now; if you do, then you are saved, and you can know the comfort of His presence at all times.

One final thought, and this is for my dear readers who have believed on Christ. In verse 49 we read the first recorded words of our Lord Jesus, “wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” If through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been given power to become the sons of God, what business then should you and I be occupied with as we wait for His return from heaven?

Did you ever have the opportunity to watch eagles fly? When I was a boy, I can recall being fascinated by eagles as they circled above the lock and dam on the Mississippi River not far from my home. In those days, my father and I went fishing near the dams on that river quite frequently, and there our attention was often captured by the eagles. How effortlessly they appeared to sweep along those footless pathways above, while we on the ground were obliged to labor down uneven, muddy trails as we struggled to make our way to our fishing spot along the bank. But, how easily the eagles seemed to mount and glide, high above our toilsome trek below. I remember thinking how marvelous it would be to soar aloft, uninhibited by the difficulties of earth, just like those eagles!

To me, the eagle appeared to be able to fly skillfully and with great strength, yet it seemed to wing its way aloft with but little effort. Perhaps it was these very characteristics that moved the Holy Spirit to choose the eagle in Isaiah 40:27-31. There we read, “Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

By way of background, the people of Judah had sinned by neglecting God over the course of many years, and now they would have to suffer the consequences of their iniquities at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. For the people of God, the long years of exile in Babylon might seem to drag on, but restoration would come at last. The verses above look ahead to that glad day when the children of Israel would come back to their land; and there is also a reminder here of that great day when the King Himself would return to reign in Jerusalem, and all of Israel’s sorrows would be over forever. These are words of comfort for God’s people, particularly for those who might become discouraged along the way; the words are for those who might think that God was not aware of their trials, or that He no longer cared about them. The long years in captivity would be very difficult for the children of Judah, and some might faint for weariness, but God, the very God of the universe, does not faint, nor does He forget His own. He created the heavens and the earth, and He sustains all by His magnificent power. His eye is ever on His people, and He can well deliver those who wait upon Him. He will put energy and vitality back into weak and weary bodies, and His children are encouraged that they will rise up above their present distress; they will mount up, as it were, on wings like eagles in seemingly effortless ascent, gliding far above this troubled world.

My dear friend, are you a child of God, and are you struggling just now? Perhaps your journey through this wilderness world has led you along weary pathways, and your progress has been challenged by many setbacks and dangers. Remember, the God of Isaiah yet lives and rules in the heavens; He is the same God today, and His words of comfort are for His people even now. He loves His own, and is ever aware of their trials: “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry,” (Psalm 34:15). The children of Israel could look forward to that latter day when the fullness of their restoration would be realized, when the great King would return to reign. Likewise, His children today can look forward to that certain hope of being with the Lord when He returns: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words,” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). On that day, we will surely break the bonds of earth and soar above, and what a day that will be! We can always be comforted in any circumstance with the certainty that this will happen. But, my dear friend, I am convinced that the children of God can mount up even now, borne by wings of faith in His precious promises, to sail far above this troubled earth, unimpeded by the trials of this scene.

Our loving and ever faithful God well knows the difficulty of the road here below, as He once walked here in the Person of His Son, the Lord Jesus. This same Jesus knows your every trouble, and He is ever ready to help; He is only a prayer away: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:15,16). If you are a believer in Christ, you can rest in the sure knowledge that however difficult the pathway ahead may prove to be for you, you do not walk that road alone: “…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” (Hebrews 13:5). My dear friend, the God who created the ends of the earth knows your situation just now; it is He that “giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” The same God who sent such words of comfort to Israel in days of old yet rules the heavens, and His Word does not fail—His Word is more stable and His promises more sure than the very earth we walk upon. By waiting on Him, we can spread those wings of faith even now, and then we will be propelled heavenward, carried aloft by the precious promises that He has given us in His Word. God is never weary, and He never faints; He has exceedingly abundant stores of strength and energy that He will give to those who wait upon Him.

But now, what if you have never believed; what if you are not a Christian? Then the promises of God’s Word are not yours yet. The good news is that this same God loves you and wants you to come to Him. Consider the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The very One who once came to this world to save sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, here invites you who are weary and burdened with the weight of sin to come to Him. To “come” means to believe on the Lord Jesus; this is the only way your burden can be removed; then you will have the rest which you seek—He alone can give you rest; that is the rest of salvation. Would you like to be saved? Would you like to be a child of God so that you too might know the comfort of His promises to His children? Would you like to have the assurance that despite your trials below, you will mount up with wings as eagles? Come to Jesus just now by believing on Him. We read in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name….”

Recently while at a picnic at the home of a good friend, I was standing in the yard, enjoying the sounds of all the people having fun, and drinking in the cool, fresh breeze of a late summer evening. Suddenly, a friend stood next to me and exclaimed, “the sun is setting, and it is so beautiful!” Momentarily, I felt a pang of sadness. “Oh, that my eyes could be opened if only for a few moments that I might once again admire those magnificent pink and purple hues,” I thought to myself. Then, for just a few seconds, my thoughts returned to that day so long ago when it had become clear to me that blindness would end the career I had worked so hard to prepare for. Now, looking back, I can see God’s definite hand of blessing all along the way. But at the first, things did not seem so clear. I recalled the lonely feeling I had as I prayed and waited, trying to see through the thick, gloomy cloud that lay across my path, and wondering what the Lord’s plan for me might be, and how I would know it.

I have often wondered what Elijah must have thought as he sat out in the wilderness by the brook Cherith as he realized that this brook was slowly drying up )1 Kings 17:7). God had sent His servant Elijah to this lonely place to protect him and to care for him after he had faithfully delivered God’s message to the wicked king Ahab. But just because Elijah had been faithful, his life from that point on was not necessarily made easy. This servant of God would learn many lessons of faith and dependence in the desolate wilderness where God would protect and care for him. We do not read that Elijah questioned why he must be placed in such humble circumstances—sleeping on the ground by a brook out in the wilderness, drinking water from the stream and eating the food that the unclean ravens brought to him. He was not to be cared for by a wealthy person in a comfortable dwelling where he might enjoy tastier food and a softer bed. God had a purpose in all of this, but this purpose was not immediately revealed to Elijah. And so, the servant of the Lord must live by faith.

And then, just when Elijah’s humble existence appeared to have settled into at least a delicate balance, the brook he so desperately needed dried up. I note that Elijah did not question why this life-sustaining brook had suddenly been taken away from him, nor did he venture forth to go looking for more water on his own; he had spent time by this brook out in the middle of nowhere in full dependence on God for every mouthful of food and every drink of water, and he had learned well to wait for the Word of God before moving forward.

Isn’t this all an important lesson for Christians today? I notice that Elijah sat by his brook until the water which had sustained his life was all gone, and only then did God reveal to him what he was to do next. Elijah was a man of prayer, so I expect he had occupied his time by the brook seeking guidance from the God of the universe, but I note that this guidance did not come until the eleventh hour—haven’t you noticed that this is often the case? But again, there is purpose–the child of God must learn to wait in dependence on the Lord to reveal His will. When the word of the Lord did come, it came without explanation, and the path laid out by the Lord would have been difficult to understand in human terms. We read in verses 8 and 9: “And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”

God was sending Elijah to a village somewhere between Tyre and Zidon on the Mediterranean coast, very near where Jezebel herself had come from, there to be cared for by a widow who was poor and on the brink of starvation. It takes faith to wait on the Lord for His guidance while your brook is drying up; and, sometimes it is hard to see the hand of the Lord in the only path that stretches out ahead. Elijah did not question why it was that he was being sent to a foreign land to be cared for by a widow who was as poor as himself rather than by someone of greater means. But, he immediately went to the place where he was sent. We read in verses 10-12: “So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

This woman of Zarephath was indeed in desperate circumstances. It would be hard to see how she could survive herself, let alone take care of the man of God. She was a widow without any income, and the drought had brought about such a famine in the region that she had no food to spare to offer the man of God. She had just a handful of meal and a little oil in a vessel which she was planning to use for herself and her son, but after they had eaten, she didn’t know where her next meal would come from. In all likelihood, she and her son were facing starvation. How could this situation result in blessing? Yet, the man of God asked this woman to trust in the Word of the LORD, and to put Him first as we read in verses 13,14: “And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.” And so it was—they all witnessed God’s unfailing stores of blessing as He fed them all for many days from a barrel and a cruse that should have long since been emptied. And, later in this same account, they both witnessed God’s power over even death. Elijah’s faith grew, I’m certain as he beheld the mighty works of God, and in the end, he was the better prepared for the service of the Lord. On the other hand, Elijah’s obedient journey to Zarephath, strange as it might have seemed to the world, had also opened the eyes of a heathen woman to the loving, living God of Grace in whom she would now place her trust for the remainder of her life.

My dear friends, are you at a standstill in some aspect of your life? Perhaps doors have been closed for you, and you are silently waiting to know the will of the Lord. Or, perhaps the one path the Lord seems to have opened for you appears to be forbidding and full of trials. But take heart! God’s leading where His dear children are concerned is filled with purpose; He often uses times just like these to build our faith and dependence on Him, that we might be a part of the unfolding of His will. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, and after that, he appeared to experience continual setbacks and difficulties; yet when he had ultimately been elevated to the place of power next under Pharaoh, he could, looking back over it all, say to his brothers, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive,” (Genesis 50: 20). God could comfort Israel regarding their captivity with such words as Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” As children of God, we always have the assurance of God’s good intentions toward us, even when everything seems to be going wrong: “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” (Psalm 30:5). Are you a Christian? If so, may your heart be comforted by the wonderful assurance that God can take even the difficulties we experience, and work those out to accomplish His will: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8:28).

“With mercy and with judgment my web of time He wove,
and aye the dews of sorrow were lustered with His love.
I’ll bless the hand that guided, I’ll bless the heart that planned,
When throned where glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.
(Little Flock 77, Appendix)

I do so enjoy the early morning, and in particular, that time just before the sunrise. Those pre-dawn moments are so peaceful and still; it is such a lovely time of day! I wait with anxious anticipation for that golden glow in the eastern sky, then those first bronze beams of light heralding the arrival of another day! As the brilliant sun bursts over the horizon, and those golden rays of light push forth across the skies to the westward, thrusting back the darkness of night, I often think of that lovely verse in Psalm 139, “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me,” (verses 9-10). I have received a lot of comfort from the thought that wherever I am in this world, and whatever circumstances I may find myself in, whether in storm or in sunshine, the God of the universe is there with me. Not only is He present wherever I may be, but His hand is holding me up and guiding me in that place! There is no place upon the earth where He is not, and likewise, there is no circumstance , dark as it may seem at the time, where His light cannot break through. Any day, and in any place, as a child of God, I can be comforted by the knowledge that the Lord is always with me, wherever I may be; whether in the deepest pit, or in the uttermost parts of the sea, “even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.”

The Apostle Paul, on his second missionary journey, once took the “wings of the morning,” as he sailed from Troas towards Macedonia. I can just imagine his ship, hoisting sail, and moving forward with the morning tide. The ship with its sails billowing in the wind, brilliant in the morning light, must have seemed like a bird in flight, with its wings spread, clawing its way forward towards the western horizon. Paul and Silas were doing the Lord’s will, traveling to Macedonia with all haste following Paul’s vision from God the previous night (Acts 16:9). Paul had seen in this vision a man of Macedonia beckoning to him, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” Obediently, Paul and his companions listened to the word of God and launched forth, making their way across the Aegean Sea with all due diligence. You might think, from the tone of the vision, that Paul and his companions would have found crowds of people at Neapolis near the Macedonian coast, anxiously awaiting Paul’s arrival; but not so. As they landed and made their way inland on the old Roman military highway to Philippi, there was virtually no notice of these bearers of the Gospel. Apparently, Philippi didn’t have enough Jewish people in residence for a synagogue, and Paul had to leave the city to find the few Jews that he could locate, a handful of women, down by a river praying. Thankfully, the Lord opened the heart of the most prominent of this company, Lydia, the seller of purple, and she became the first convert of Macedonia (Acts 16:14). But, as Paul and Silas later made their way around the market place in Philippi, they began to encounter real opposition. If a person seeks to do God’s work in this world, you can be sure that Satan will be there to oppose. In this case, the opposition was in the form of a woman possessed by a demon. This woman apparently made a living for her masters by telling fortunes and giving information which was commonly believed to be from the gods, but of course was really from the demon. She began to proclaim Paul’s presence as though she was somehow allied with his work, and Paul could not allow this to continue. There can be no alliance between the work of God and that of Satan. So he commanded the demon to leave her, which ended her ability to make money for her masters. The next thing you know, Paul and his friends were dragged before the magistrates and falsely accused by these disgruntled slave masters who were now out a good source of income. They accused Paul and his friends of troubling the city and teaching customs unlawful for Roman citizens (Acts 16: 20,21). The magistrates, apparently without exploring the matter further, had Paul and Silas beaten with rods, then turned them over to a jailer to be cast into a Roman prison.

Paul had come all the way to Macedonia to preach the Gospel, and now in very short order, Paul and Silas found themselves beaten up, and locked up securely, deep in a harsh, Roman jail! To those without faith, this situation must have appeared desperate in the extreme, and this mission to Macedonia must have appeared to have been a great mistake. Yet, though hundreds of miles from home, and secured in the inner depths of a most unpleasant prison, Paul and Silas did not despair! They realized that even in these apparently dire circumstances, the God of the universe was there with them, and His right hand was even now holding them. I believe that Paul and Silas realized that God knew everything about them. He knew their thoughts, their hearts desires, their dreams and their disappointments, and more than this, he had good things in mind for them. This same lovely truth is expressed in Psalm 139:1-6, and if you are a child of God, you know that these wonderful truths apply to you as well. Psalm 139:1-4 says, “O lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether”. God knows everything about us! He knows where we are, what we think, and certainly, what our situation is at any time. But, it doesn’t stop there. That same God who sees us wherever we are and knows us so thoroughly, cares for us! We read in verse 5, “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me”. This same God who knows everything about us, also guards us and guides us with His loving care! No wonder the psalmist exclaims with utter joy, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it,” (Psalm 139:6).

My dear friend, where are you just now? Are you in trouble or in danger? Are you in the dreary dungeon of sickness and loneliness, or have you been rejected by loved ones or friends? Are you far from the comfort and protection of home and family this day? Such times try the soul, do they not? You may not be in the inner recesses of a stone prison, with your feet in stocks, but you may be experiencing misery that others do not see or understand. Wherever you are, my dear friend, I assure you that the Lord knows very well what you are going through. If you are a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, then you can claim the wonderful promises of God’s Word. Wherever you are, and whatever your circumstance, the Lord has His eye on you, as we read in Psalm 34:15, “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry”. Even at the bottom of a stone prison, or in the uttermost parts of the sea, your God is with you, His hand is leading you, and His right hand is holding you.

As for Paul and Silas, despite the grim setting, and despite the pain and many indignities they were obliged to suffer this night, they were in fact exactly where God wanted them to be, and He was with them. There was to be a Gospel meeting this very evening, and the audience was to include a most unlikely participant. The jailer of Philippi was not brought up knowing anything at all about Christ, so he would not likely have been at all interested in attending any Gospel meeting. But, a Gospel meeting is precisely what the Lord had in mind for this Macedonian. Paul and Silas had been brought here with the message of life for this man in particular, but his heart must first be opened. And, the events of this night would help open that heart, that this man might receive the Gospel. It is true that the jailer would not have gone to a Gospel meeting on his own, so God brought the Gospel meeting to the jailer right there in the prison.

Now, think about this: these Gospel preachers were obliged to travel all this way, enduring such strong opposition, and all of this for the sake of ministering to one lost, ruined sinner! If you are yet unsaved, be assured that God would do no less for you. Such is God’s love for the likes of sinners. He gave His only begotten Son because of His great love for us, that whosoever would believe on Him, might be saved. We read in 1 Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief”.

So, how did this Gospel meeting happen? We read in Acts 16:25, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them”. From the very depths of their miserable cell, they prayed and praised! Christian, praying and praising is precisely what God would have us to be doing in our time of trial, or in times of great decision-making, and really at all times. Nothing so characterizes the child of God as that spirit of dependence as demonstrated by prayer. Why then do we often tend not to pray when in stress. I believe it is Satan’s plan to so overwhelm us by our circumstances that we decline even to pray. Remember Peter when walking on the water to meet the Lord (Matthew 14:22-31). When he took his eyes off the Lord and looked at the waves, he began to sink. Only when his hand was in the Lord’s was he raised up once again.

Paul and Silas were not overcome by their desperate circumstances, because they had come to know and trust the God who raises the dead (“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead,” II Corinthians 1:9).

To finish the story, we read in Acts 16:26-31, “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.“ Are you yet saved? If not, I hope you notice the response of Paul to his jailer’s question as to what he must do to be saved; and it is my prayer that you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ this very hour, just as this Macedonian did so long ago, and you too will be saved.

Paul and Silas had ventured far from their homes, as they sought to be obedient to the Lord’s calling; and with each step, their situation seemed to go from bad to worse, until at length, they were in what appeared to be very serious trouble, far from home. Yet, even when all seemed lost, deep within this forbidding dungeon, the Lord was with His own sure enough; and He was leading and upholding them every step of the way. Despite appearances, they were precisely in the place where God wanted them to be; and this stony jail became the very pulpit from which the Gospel of Jesus Christ went forth and touched precious souls. A Roman guard and his family were saved, and soon, there was a thriving church on European soil.

My dear Christian friend, despite your apparent circumstances, you can know the comfort of God’s presence, even in the depths of some gloomy prison, or some lonely and desolate place far from home. The Lord knows His own, and what’s more, He at all times cares for His people, so you may put your trust in this fact (“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you,”. 1 Peter 5:7). Even if your path just now seems fraught with dark troubles, take heart–God’s intentions towards you are only ever good, as we read in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”. May the Lord comfort your heart with the knowledge of His presence and care, whatever your situation may be.

Were you ever in a situation that seemed hopeless? If you brought the matter before the Lord in prayer, and He delivered you, were you thankful? In this portion in Luke 17, the Lord Jesus was traveling toward Jerusalem along the borders of Galilee and Samaria. Somewhere in this region, He entered into a certain village, and we read that He encountered there some men who had a very serious problem—they had leprosy. Leprosy was that dreaded and loathsome disease that was so prevalent in Bible times. While leprosy did not usually mean death for a person, it did lead to a kind of walking death for someone living in those days. The person with leprosy was generally restricted from close association with others, so they had to live apart from the rest of society. In Bible times, those with leprosy could no longer be around family and friends, could no longer carry on business or hold a job; and When approaching others, the affected person had to call out “unclean” so that others would be warned. If the one with leprosy was poor or a working class individual, it generally meant that they became a beggar. And as there was no cure for leprosy in the world of that time, this all went on for the rest of the person’s life unless for some reason the disease simply went away.

In scripture, leprosy is often considered a type of sin due to its association with uncleanness. It is like sin in that there was no human cure, so those that had leprosy experienced a most helpless and hopeless condition, and one from which there was no deliverance in this world. Additionally, in ancient times, a person was a leper whether they had one small lesion on the arm, or whether they had lesions all over the body. Regarding sin, we read in James 2:10, “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” One sin shows us to be a sinner, and we are all sinners according to Romans 3:23.

On this particular day, Jesus encountered ten men who were lepers; they must have known about Jesus, because when they saw Him, they called to Him immediately. Typically, they would have called to someone to warn them off, but not this time—this was Jesus, and somehow they knew that He alone could help. In verse 13 we read: “And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Like many others in those days, they would have heard about this One who healed the sick, and gave sight to the blind, and set the lame upon their feet. I’m sure they were excited when they found that they had Jesus nearby, and far from shrinking back, their great need propelled them to call to Him for mercy.

If you know this One who alone can truly heal, then do you know that whatever the impossible circumstance of your life, He is the One who always hears and can really help? He is in glory today at the right hand of the Father, but He is the same Jesus who was called upon by these men and who responded in love and compassion so long ago. Jesus hears and is always ready to bless when He is called upon in faith, and that never changes. “Though in glory I am seated, e’en the softest word I hear; and the voice of little children, soundeth sweetly in Mine ear.” In verse 14 we read, “And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.”

When the Lord Jesus saw the faith of these men, He lovingly ministered to their great need, though at first, it might have seemed that He was merely sending them away. But the words, “go show yourselves to the priest” were in this case the same as saying, “you are healed.” The priests had no power to heal a man of leprosy, and these men probably realized that. That’s where faith came in. They obediently followed the Lord’s instruction even though when He bid them go, they were still lepers. The priest could only declare them clean—but only God could heal a man of leprosy. Still, in faith they went, and as they went, they suddenly discovered that each and every one of them was healed! Can you imagine their amazement and excitement as they inspected themselves and one another looking for those dreaded spots, only to find clean, healthy skin? In a moment of inexpressible joy, they must have realized that they were healed; and in very short order, the priest could certify their fitness to return to society. Soon, they could return to their families and their jobs—they had their lives back—what a day!!

In all their excitement, though, it appears that most of these men forgot about their Benefactor, the Lord Jesus. He was the One who had made their joy possible, but it would seem that their preoccupation with returning to the world they knew overshadowed any thought about the mighty power of God which had been demonstrated in their midst. On this day, nine men found healing for their bodies, and as far as we know, they returned to their world and pursued their interests. But one man, and him a Samaritan, apparently saw something greater than this world in Jesus: “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan,” (verses 15, 16). I believe that this lone returning man, Samaritan that he was, found healing for more than just his body on this day. We read that he came back to Jesus and threw himself down in the posture of worship before Him, and He praised God. Jesus then inquired about the others, “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole,” (verses 17-19). All of these men were healed by Jesus, but apparently only this one man realized that he had encountered God in this miraculous work, and I believe that changed everything for him. This Samaritan not only got his life in society back, but he found Christ!

My dear friend, if you are already a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have access at all times to this One who always hears and acts on your behalf. Sometimes, like in the case of these ten men who still had the signs of leprosy on their bodies when they were directed to go show themselves to the priest, it might not seem like He is hearing or answering quickly. But we have this assurance: we can approach the throne of grace day or night and know that this same Lord Jesus hears us, understands our situation, and acts to help. In Hebrews 4: 16 we are invited, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

But, my dear friend, what if you are reading these words and are not a Christian? If that is your case, I must let you know that you too have a disease from which there is no cure on earth. That disease is sin, and it is a disease that does lead to death. The Good News is that God has seen us in our need and has sent His Son to save us from this terrible problem which separates us from God, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Will you accept God’s remedy which is being offered to you right now? That remedy is Jesus, and He is the only One that can help. In Acts 4:12 we read, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Finally, my dear friend, let’s be thankful. All of the men who petitioned Jesus in this portion of scripture which we have read were healed of leprosy, but only one of them was thankful to God. Do we remember to thank God for answered prayer? Thankfulness should be the signature characteristic of the Christian as we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Sometimes, when the heart is broken, it can seem difficult to show that thankful spirit; but, I believe that a thankful heart will actually help bring about healing for the troubled Christian; that sorrowful heart can be encouraged when we meditate on the wonderful God who loves us, and whose ear is ever inclined toward us. Considering the mighty works of God will lead to rejoicing as we read in Psalm 63: 5,6 “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.”

“And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me,” (Psalm 50:15).

In chapter 19 of the book of 1 Kings, we read about a very surprising development in the life of an obedient servant of God. Elijah was God’s man for the time. He had been a man of prayer during Israel’s years of spiritual decline, and God had prepared this prayerful servant to be used in mighty ways to testify of the LORD before Israel. Because of Elijah’s faithfulness in prayer, God had closed off the heavenly storehouses of rain, and the result was a drought and subsequent famine that would last three and a half years, the purpose of which was to turn the hearts of the people of Israel back to their God. This faithful servant of God had boldly proclaimed the message of this drought before king Ahab, then had learned the lessons of dependence and faith out in the wilderness and at the distant village of Zarephath, where God had protected him from the king’s wrath and had demonstrated His mighty power to save and to sustain life. Then, at the command of the LORD, Elijah had gone once again before Ahab, and had stood before the forces of darkness assembled at Carmel. There, he had proclaimed the God of Israel in the powerful testimony of the fire from heaven which consumed the offering, and this had led to the slaughter of all of the prophets of Baal. But now, in the aftermath of such a mighty victory, we see this man of God running away before the face of the angry queen Jezebel, to a desolate place in the wilderness south of Beersheba over a hundred miles from where God had originally sent him. Here, the mighty man of God sat beneath a juniper tree all by himself, discouraged and disheartened, weary of life and asking to die. Who could have predicted such a turn of events? We read in verses 1-4: “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”

It is a little surprising, don’t you think, that this man of God should have such an illustrious career of service, only to be plunged into such a state of discouragement and soul weariness? But, this is what can happen to the child of God if our eye is taken off the Lord and we focus instead on the situation around us. Consider Peter as he stepped from the ship on that stormy sea in Matthew 14:22-33. Peter’s focus on the Lord was distracted by the fury of the storm around him. Perhaps as he got further from the ship, he became uneasy with the sea boiling beneath his feet, or the wind whipping spray in his face, or perhaps he heard the sounds of the ship behind him being lashed about by the boisterous wind. In any case, he momentarily forgot that he was following the direction of the Lord Himself who was there right in front of him on that sea. Suddenly, the wind and the waves became more real to him than the Lord who was before him, and he began to sink. Still, it was just at such a time that the Lord Jesus reached out to help His fearful disciple, and He brought him up from the boiling sea and delivered him safely to the ship.

Similarly, it would appear that Elijah momentarily took his eyes off of God who had commissioned him and had equipped him for this present service before Ahab. Running away from the wrath of Jezebel, Elijah had sought a secluded spot under this juniper tree, far, far away from all his troubles, and there he simply sat down and gave up. This is a sad state for any child of God to be in, wouldn’t you agree? And yet, how often we find ourselves in just such a place of discouragement and self pity after experiencing trials and challenges in our lives. Have you sought to hide away under such a juniper tree? Perhaps you have experienced a spiritual victory, only to find that it is followed by some challenge that seems threatening in the extreme, and which makes you want to run away and give up. Such times can try the soul! But, my dear friend, if you are a Christian, do not be surprised when you are challenged as you walk through this fallen world. I believe that our adversary, the devil, seeks to discourage Christians at every turn. His purpose is to resist the spreading of the Gospel and the testimony of the church in this world, and I believe that Satan uses demonic activity to accomplish these very results wherever possible. Remember the words of Ephesians 6, verses 10-13: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

While it may be sad to find Elijah, the mighty man of God, under the juniper tree in such a disheartened state in 1 Kings 19, I find much encouragement in God’s loving and gracious response in verses 5-8, “And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.”

My dear friend, sometimes we too become weary and are ready to give up, and at times like this, we can become absorbed with our own failure and weakness, and we can begin to think that God can no longer use us or that He is setting us aside. But, I do not believe that God casts His obedient servants aside when they fail. God was clearly not finished with Elijah—He had plans for him yet. If God had been through with Elijah, He might have simply left him to languish in self-pity under that tree; but instead, with loving kindness toward his battle weary servant, He sent His angel to minister rest and nourishment, just the things needed to put this child of God back on his feet in order to get him ready for the work that still lay ahead of him. My dear friend, the same gracious God who did not cast aside, but rather strengthened His servant Elijah, has His eye on you just now: “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry,” (Psalm 34:15). Perhaps, as in the example above of Peter in the waves, you can see the loving hand of the Lord Jesus reaching out to you just now, ready to lift you out of the troubled waters to safety. That same Lord Jesus is just a prayer away: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:16).

For centuries, military leaders have valued the high ground. In countless battles over the years, generals would seek to gain and hold high ground positions, as this was the best place to set up a strong defense. On the top of a stony hill, an army could entrench behind rocks and fallen trees, while the attacking enemy would be obliged to struggle up a steep incline, over rough terrain, through an open field of fire. Many a powerful attack, launched by even greatly superior numbers, has been repulsed in such a manner. Those who possessed the high ground had a position of great strength and advantage. In Scripture, however, I believe that attaining the high ground takes on a more spiritual meaning. The “high places of the earth” spoken of in Deuteronomy 32 would seem to refer more to a place of heavenly blessing, rather than a place of military advantage. This would be a place where God brings His earthly people in order to bless and care for them. In Deuteronomy 32, we see this picture contained within the song that God instructed Moses to write for the people of Israel as they readied themselves to cross into the land of Canaan. In verses 9-13 of that song, we read: “For the LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
so the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and He made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock….”

In this song, in its entirety, we see the greatness of God, and His faithful dealing with His people beginning with their birth as a nation, and His loving care for His own all along their way. Here, Israel is personified as a man, Jacob, whom God is caring for. Israel had been delivered from bondage by the mighty works of God, and the people were led and cared for by Him as they journeyed towards the land of Canaan, their land of promise. When the people failed the Lord, God was yet faithful. Even though they had been obliged to wander 40 years through the wilderness, God still held them as the apple of His eye, and continued leading them and caring for them whatever their circumstances. In the verses of this song cited above, we see God’s love for His people likened to the meticulous care of a mother eagle for her young. Despite the fact that His people often wandered astray, yet God never left His dear ones, but led them faithfully toward their ultimate blessing. In verse 13, the song turns prophetic, describing the benefits of the promised land for Jacob: “He made him ride on the high places of the earth”, and this was a place where He would care for His people, and where they would be blessed beyond their highest expectations. Here, on higher ground, they would eat the increase of the field, and even the honey and oil would be made available to them, as it were, from the very rocks, so abundant would be their blessing.

Now, a sense of actual spiritual elevation might be seen in the prophesy in Micah 4:2. Here, I believe that the city of Jerusalem itself might be thought of to represent a higher spiritual plane. A good friend of mine recently went to Israel, and he reported back on the appearance of the land, and on the scriptural lessons he learned about the places he visited. He described how that Jerusalem was set upon a hill, and thus all journeys away from Jerusalem are described as “going downward”, whether traveling north, south, east or west. Thus, traveling to Jerusalem is spoken of as “going up to Jerusalem, and leaving the place in any direction is phrased “going down”, regardless of the location of the destination on the map. But in a very real way, being that this is the place of the temple, and the site of the Great King’s return, Jerusalem might well be thought of as higher spiritual ground in the sense that it is the place where God will bless His people, and as well, the people of the world. In this portion in Micah 4:2, we read about this ascent to higher ground in that latter day: “And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem”.

Jerusalem in that day, will be the site of the heavenly city, and the throne of the Great King, who will return there and rule the world in righteousness. At this time, Israel will be blessed, and the nation restored to the glory intended. In this place, all the people of the world will come to be blessed, as they will come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, and to learn of Him. This spiritual ascent to Jerusalem describes that high ground of blessing, traveling upwards to learn more of the Lord and to be cared for by Him. I do believe that this is a beautiful picture of the spiritual ascent which God’s children, believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, may take as they walk with Him today through this wilderness world. Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? If so, you are one of God’s people, whom God faithfully leads through a world full of trials and difficulties. We may travel through deep valleys, such as the valley of the shadow of death described in Psalm 23, or perhaps we must course through a dry and thirsty land where no water is, as described in Psalm 63. Come what may, being His dear children, He leads us faithfully along as we walk closely with Him. As we learn more about Him and His lovingkindness towards His own, we daily gain spiritual elevation, growing in the things of the Lord, ever ascending to higher spiritual ground. I believe this is what the hymn writer had in mind in his beautiful words:

I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground!

Lord lift me up And let me stand;
By faith on Heaven’s table land.
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord plant my feet on higher ground. (Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1898).

My dear friend, are you one of God’s children? If you are, then you can have full assurance of God’s continuing care for you whatever your station or circumstance in this life. The Lord cares for you even as a mother eagle cares for and teaches her young, so that one day, they may soar along those footless paths, high above the hills and valleys of the earth. Our spiritual ascent is sure, walking hand in hand with the Lord, as He will faithfully lead His dear children along the upward way, to spiritual heights as yet unknown to us. In those higher realms, despite even the most difficult realities of the path, we will be nourished and blessed; while with every foot of our journey, He is leading us to the promised land, which is His rest. In Psalm 121, we read: “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep,” (Psalm 121:3,4). The Lord will not suffer our foot to be moved from the path that leads to glory.

But, my dear friend, if you have not yet believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you cannot have even begun this spiritual ascent. You cannot as yet realize the heights of blessing and comfort that the Lord wants to offer you, even as you read these words. But, this can all change for you in a moment of faith, if you would but believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. In the Gospel of John, we read about the many wonders and signs regarding the Lord Jesus which were written about in that book. The apostle sums up the purpose of this record in John 20:31 where we read, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.” Will you believe and have life? It is my prayer for you that just now, you will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Then, as one of His dear children, being ever in His loving care, you will join the countless thousands who are pressing upward daily in faith to higher spiritual ground.

What is your great hope in life? This brief account in Luke 2 is one of my favorite portions of scripture because it tells about the hope of one man who lived in Jerusalem at the time when the Lord Jesus came to earth. The unwavering faith of Simeon, and his utter joy in seeing the fulfillment of the promises of God never fails to lift me up, even when I’m having my toughest days.

What we know about Simeon, I believe, is what we have in these few verses. Simeon was a Jew, Living in Jerusalem; and if he was a man of any social prominence, we are not told. I do not believe we know Simeon’s age, nor his occupation, nor his aspirations in life. What we know, however, is most recommending; and it is pretty much summed up in verse 25 where we read, “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.”

It appears that Simeon had one great hope for his life. This hope was not for wealth, power, nor fame. Simeon loved God and he loved Israel, and his one great hope in life was to see God’s salvation for Israel—to actually see the Messiah, God’s anointed One whose coming had long been foretold in prophesy. I believe that this hope had caused Simeon to be much in prayer and fasting over the years, and God honored this beautiful faith and devotion. We read in verse 26, “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”

Do you hunger for the fulfillment of the promises of God? Simeon did, and God gave him the desire of his heart. Simeon would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. This was the message that God revealed to a just and devout man who truly longed for God’s solution for Israel and the world. Isn’t it marvelous how God reveals His truth to those who desire and seek Him? Macdonald in his Bible commentary notes Psalm 25:14, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.” To be really honest, there were plenty of others in Jerusalem at the time of Simeon who should have been hungering for the promise of the Messiah as well. Some of these others I speak of were well acquainted with the scriptures, but they seemed unaware of Messiah’s coming and they appeared to be unmoved by the prospects (see Matthew 2). How refreshing to see a heart like Simeon’s that longed for Christ! Would that more people today would hunger to know about Jesus!

Simeon had been promised that he would see Messiah, but how would he find the Christ? The Holy Spirit led Simeon at the proper time to where Jesus was. If we are willing to be led by the Spirit, He will show us Christ. In verses 27-32, we read, “And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

I can imagine that Simeon’s face beamed as he took up this baby in his arms, and praised God. But hadn’t he only seen a baby? At this point, how could he know that he held in his arms the very fulfillment of God’s promises, and the hope of all the world? This is where faith came in. He hadn’t seen any miracles or listen to any of the wonderful words of Jesus as yet; he hadn’t seen His work on the cross or the empty tomb. God had revealed that this child was His Christ—God’s answer to Israel and all the world. He would bring light to the gentiles who had walked in sin and ignorance over the centuries, and He would be the glory of Israel, though the fullness of this would not be seen for some time to come. Embodied in this child was the fulfillment of God’s promises for salvation, and this was verified by God’s Word. God’s Word was enough for Simeon! “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” (Hebrews 11:1). Simeon rejoiced to see the Christ come into the world; he was satisfied in that, knowing that all else would be fulfilled in God’s time. Simeon had been privileged to see and hold the Christ of God, and there was nothing more he needed to see in this world; he was now ready to leave this world with a glad heart, whenever the Lord should see fit to take him. He had no dread of death, because he knew that all would now be well.

Simeon was a completely satisfied man, and one full of joy. Yet, none of the circumstances around Simeon had visibly changed when you think about it. The Romans were still occupying Israel, and still imposing their harsh rule; and there were no visible signs that this would change any time soon. But Simeon had joy—he had seen God’s solution for the problems of Israel and the world in the person of this child, so despite the apparent circumstances, he had joy!

Do we have joy? As Christians, we above all people should have joy. Yet so often, when faced with trials and disappointments, we dwell on the tribulations , and not on the promises of God. But we have so many precious promises in God’s Word to comfort us, even when nothing seems to be going right! Remember the words of our Lord Jesus in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The peace and joy we seek is not to be found in this world, but in Christ. This world offers us tribulations and disappointments; but we should not be discouraged—Christ has overcome the world!

If you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have so many precious promises to cling to. We know that we are never alone in this world, even though our Lord has gone to the glory and is now at the right hand of His Father—Matthew 28:20 reads, “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” We know too that our Lord will come again and receive His own to be with Himself: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,” (John 14:3). If you are a believer, then these promises are for you. If you have not yet believed, you will not have much joy or comfort in these words. But you can come to Christ today and believe, then you will be able to rejoice with all the children of God in these same promises. We read in John 1:12:“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,” John 1:12. This promise can be yours!

After the disciples watched their Lord Jesus die on the cross, their hearts were troubled; when they saw Him alive after resurrection, they rejoiced, and this rejoicing did not stop when forty days later, He was taken away from them into heaven. We read in Luke 24:52,53: “And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” If we are Christians, we have every reason to be joyful in this world, regardless of the circumstances around us. This same Jesus is alive; and if alive, then we have life and glory before us!

Acts 1:11:”…Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

Have you ever experienced a time when someone close to you suddenly turned against you? Have you known the bitter disappointment and the piercing loneliness that resulted when former friends or loved ones became cold toward you and began acting more like enemies than like friends? Unfortunately, such troubling experiences must sometimes be endured by even the child of God as we walk through this fallen world. King David certainly knew such times. Psalm 63 is the response of his heart to a time when he had to flee for his very life to escape his own son. Absalom had stolen the hearts of many in Israel, and he was at that time advancing rapidly with an army of former loyal subjects to take the throne by force. Imagine the sorrow in the king’s heart as he had to pack and tramp with all his household and those who yet served him, and flee from his palace to dry, desolate places just to preserve life. Imagine the bitterness of knowing that his own son and many of his former friends had turned against him and now sought to violently depose him. Yet, as we read this psalm, we do not hear the outcry of bitterness or despair. We read instead the cry of a soul which sought the comfort and presence of God. In verses 1 and 2 we read: “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.”

A “dry and thirsty land” is a pretty apt description of the world we live in today, wouldn’t you agree? It is often difficult and cold in this life, with dangers and trials all around. It seems there is very little here to encourage the hearts of Christians, so that we sometimes cry out from the very depths of our being for refreshment and relief. For David, that refreshment and relief was to be found in God. His soul thirsted for God, and his flesh longed for Him. We do not hear David crying out for an easier path, or for the creature comforts he was certainly lacking at that moment. His heart’s desire was to see the power and glory of the Lord. David had walked with God and had come to trust Him, so even with his life on the line, he praised the Lord for His lovingkindness. In verse 3, we read: “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” David could praise the Lord for His lovingkindness even though it might seem at that moment that all his world was turned upside down.

We read in verses 4-6, “Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.” Perhaps you have experienced, as I have, that at nighttime our fears seem to come out and weigh on our troubled minds. It seems that when the lights go out, our thoughts can tend to focus on all the problems of the day, and our fears seem to be exaggerated after the room is dark and our eyes are closed. But oh, what comfort we miss if we spend our nights worrying! David had the perfect recipe for nightly peace of mind. Instead of spending his sleepless moments worrying, he spent time at night thinking on the Lord rather than on his very real problems; and I believe that God both comforted him and satisfied the longing of his soul during those hours of prayerful meditation. We Christians today can rest our cares upon the Lord too as we read in Philippians 4:6,7: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

When the heart of a Christian is filled with thoughts of the Lord, we too will find that there isn’t much room left for worry. Worry will be replaced by praise, and a sense of security in God’s care over us will grow as we recall the faithfulness of our Lord, and consider the precious promises in His Word.

You might imagine that with the country turning against him, and himself fleeing for his life to the wilderness, that David would feel loneliness and despair. But, David knew by experience that God would not leave him on his own in desolate places to fend off the enemy by himself; he had confidence that he would yet have reason to joy in God: “Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice, My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me,” (verse 7,8). Now, how about you? Did you ever feel really alone and ignored or even despised in this world? If you are a child of God, that is not such a surprise when you think about it. This world is no friend of Grace. At work or at school, we may be hard pressed to find a single soul who takes our side. We may feel all alone in standing for truth and Godliness. But, if we have Christ, we are never really alone. Our Lord Jesus, though now with the Father in glory, has promised us, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” (Hebrews 13:5). We know that the Lord Jesus once walked in this scene where we live, experiencing first hand the trials and infirmities of this life, yet without sin. He was rejected by the world, yet in love, He endured the afflictions of the cross for our sakes. This same Lord Jesus is in glory today while we walk through this dreary land, but His ear is ever inclined toward us, and he ever is ready to encourage us and intercede for us. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:15,16).
Come what may in this world, we are never alone and without His loving care.

In the final verses, we see that David had confidence that God’s plan would unfold perfectly, and the wicked would not upset that plan. In verse 11, I believe that the Holy Spirit points us to a very encouraging thought: “But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.” Verse 11 might be seen to look forward to the time when the Great King, the Christ, will sit on the throne in Jerusalem, all His enemies having been defeated; and all of Israel will be blessed in Him. What a comfort for David to consider the blessings of those latter days. We too are rejoiced in these thoughts, for we will reign with Him! But, for David as for us, that day is still upon the road. David was, as we are now, in a dry and thirsty land where no water is; yet we long for the presence of our Lord, and seek Him early for encouragement and refreshment. As we read in Psalm 5:3, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up”.

In these prayerful words of Psalm 61, we hear the cry of a child of God who is being overwhelmed by some awful crisis that is pressing upon him like a great and terrible flood. I can only imagine the dire circumstances that must have weighed upon the mind of the psalmist, as we hear his heartfelt petition, seemingly from the very limits of his endurance: “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I,” (verses 1-2). Whether the emergency prompting this prayer was a specific incident in David’s life, or whether it was more a reflection on a combination of past experiences, David was looking to the Lord alone for help in times that must have been trying in the extreme. But, notice what it is that this faithful one cries out for. We do not hear him petition for the great trials to be removed, but rather for the rock which will lift him above all cares and concerns of this life; for the rock which the Lord alone will certainly lead him to. This rock is high enough to raise him up above the floods of trouble, and to lift him to a higher plane.

Does it not seem, at times, that desperate circumstances come upon us in waves, threatening to surround and overwhelm us like a great flood? Such times can be terrifying, as we see the floodwaters rise, and there is no relief in sight. What we need at such times is a rock rising above the troubles waters; a solid rock, a place of rest and safety far above the threatening circumstances of this world. We need the rock that is higher than I.

Now, David does not seek just any rock, but only the rock which the Lord Himself will lead him to. David calls upon the Lord to conduct him safely to this rock, and to set his feet there upon that place, far above the rising floods. What’s more, this child of God knows with all his fiber that he can depend upon the Lord to bring him to this place of peace and rest.

My dear friend, I wonder if you have experienced such a time of overwhelming circumstances in your life. Perhaps you are in the midst of such a flood of trouble just now as you read these words. Maybe you are under severe attack by enemies that seek to ruin you, or business or financial woes have encompassed you all around. Perhaps the grip of serious illness is upon you, and there seems to be nothing but the rising waters of suffering before you. If this is your case, my dear friend, I’m sure you will find it comforting to know that the very God of the universe, the One whose eye was upon David so long ago, has His eye upon you personally just now. We read in Psalm 34:15: “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry.” But just like with David of old, the Lord may not choose to remove the flood of trials that have come upon us, yet we must never mistake this for a lack of care for His own. If He will not remove the flood, then surely He will set us above our fears by the knowledge of his presence with us, knowing of His perfect plan and good intentions for those who are His own: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end,” (Jeremiah 29:11).

In times of trouble, we can and must call upon Him for that Rock that is higher than I. But, what exactly is that Rock? I believe we find the answer stated very clearly in Psalm 18:1 where we read, “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower”. The Lord is our Rock, and it is to God Himself that we must be brought in those times that try the soul.

David knew, as we can know too, that the Lord is faithful and good, and He will be with us in every trial, and will certainly lead us to Himself when we cry out to Him in faith in those times of our extremity; He will lead us to this rock that is higher than I. The psalmist knew this to be true by his own past experience in walking with the Lord, as we read in Psalm 61:3, “For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy”. In countless experiences walking through troubled waters with the Lord, David had learned to depend upon his God as his shelter and fortress, and the only One who can truly deliver. What’s more, he knew that despite the apparent emergencies of this life, the Lord will keep His own, and bring them to a blessed future with Himself. We read in verses 4 and 5, ”I will abide in Thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of Thy wings. Selah. For Thou, O God, hast heard my vows: Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear Thy name”.

Are you a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ? If you are, then you can know with assurance that you too possess this “heritage of those that fear Thy name”, as we read in Colossians 1:12, “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:”. You can know with assurance that, “…He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them,” (Hebrews 7:25). My dear friend, if you are a child of God, having placed your trust in Christ Jesus for your salvation, then come what may in this world, you can truly be lifted above even the most desperate flood of hard circumstances in this life. You can look over this scene of grim disappointment with perfect confidence for a bright future in the presence of the Lord, as we read in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”.

But now, my dear friend, if you know in your heart that you have not yet believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, these words of Psalm 61 may seem hollow, and afford little comfort for you. It may be that you see no guiding hand from above, leading you and caring for you in your times of distress. Perhaps you feel greatly oppressed by the fatigues and dangers of this life, and do not know where deliverance may come from. Then please know that a door to peace and rest is open to you just now, right where you are. Our Lord Jesus calls to you at this very moment to come to Him as we read in Matthew 11:28: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This is a promise from the Lord Jesus Himself, and it is especially for you. I pray that even as you read these words, you will accept His invitation and come to the Lord Jesus in faith, believing on Him for your salvation. Remember, “…as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name,” (John 1:12).

As I recently read the words of Psalm 56, I thought about a time when young David felt obliged to flee for his very life from the wrath of a jealous King Saul. David had been anointed to be the next king in Israel, but Saul yet sat on that throne, and apparently he feared David; he appeared determined to see to it that David would never be his successor. The jealousy of Saul towards David was unrighteous, because David had only ever been faithful and loyal to his master. Saul had certainly had his successes on the battlefield, but David had gained in the estimation of the people with even greater accomplishments. Those words, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 21:11) must have burned into Saul’s jealous heart as he now hunted his faithful servant like a prey. David, to protect himself from this unrighteous persecution, fled Israel itself for a time as we read in 1 Samuel 21:10, “And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.”
In later days, David moved throughout wilderness areas, sometimes just steps ahead of his pursuers. He camped in desolate places, in wooded areas, in strongholds in the rocky highlands of Judah, and in mountainous recesses and caves. It must have seemed that wherever David looked, his enemies were around him, hunting and hounding him, always seeking to take his life. We read the words of this persecuted child of God in verses 1 and 2, “Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O Thou Most High.” In verses 5 and 6 he continued, “Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.”

Did you ever feel surrounded by enemies who seemed relentlessly to hunt you; are there those now who seem determined to “swallow you up”? David’s enemies were seemingly everywhere, and constant in their malicious pursuit. It may be that just now, you yourself seem to be surrounded by enemies and troubles. Perhaps you do not have actual armed men chasing you to take your life in a physical assault, but maybe your enemies are just as real, though less tangible. Doesn’t it sometimes seem that troubles and trials mound up and threaten to overwhelm like the billows and waves of an angry sea? It must have seemed so for David. Yet, as a child of God, he did not need to fear men, though all seemed against him, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me,” (verses 3,4). My dear friend, if you are a child of God, verses 3 and 4 are for you too, and they are just as true for you as for David of old. When you are afraid, you can trust in the very God of the universe whose eyes are upon you, and whose ears are open to your cries (Psalm 34:15). The child of God can say with David in verse 9, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.” Do you know that God is for you? He loves you so much that He once sent His own Son to die on a cross that you might have life. We read, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?,” (Romans 8:31,32). If you are a Christian, then you can know with confidence that God, the very God of the universe, is on your side. You need not fear the malevolent schemes of Satan, nor the people or circumstances he would use to discourage you.

But, maybe just now, you are struggling with some really difficult circumstances which threaten to overwhelm you, and you feel very alone in the struggle. Perhaps the words of Psalm 56 seem to echo your own heart as you cry out in soul weariness and sorrow at the relentless assault of the enemy; perhaps those who once were friends have turned against you for unknown reasons, or perhaps those you work for seem to be plotting your demise; perhaps you have witnessed the decline of your own health, or that of a loved one, and the situation just doesn’t improve no matter what you do. Verse 8 of this Psalm is such a lovely and encouraging verse for such a time: “Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?? Just think of that—While David felt hunted and driven from place to place, God knew every step of his lonely wilderness journey; each of his steps were guarded, and every seeming retreat was covered by the One who saves and keeps His dear children. Every tear that fell from David’s eyes was known by God, each being placed, as it were, in God’s bottle; each written in His book. And so it is for each of His own. Perhaps you have felt compelled to wander from one wilderness refuge to another; perhaps some of your wanderings have been those painful skirmishes of the mind as your thoughts have been troubled in sleepless nights of restless churning, or your daytime thoughts absorbed with the silent struggles that no one around you sees. What a comfort to know that the Lord has noted every teardrop that you have shed, and each is numbered as are also the very hairs of your head by the One who loves your soul. May you find comfort in the One who is able to “deliver (your) feet from falling (verse 13).

Now, if you are reading these words, but you have never believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then these thoughts will probably not be of much comfort to you. The good news is that God loves you, and He desires that you have life as we read in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. If you are weary and burdened by the load of sin, hear Jesus calling to you even now as we read in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” That rest is the rest of salvation, and it can be yours only through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you put your faith in Him just now and become a child of God? We read in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”

“Hark it is the Savior calling, ‘little children follow Me!’
Jesus keep our feet from falling, teach us how to follow Thee!
O do Thou who, meek and lowly, trod Thyself this vale of woe,
Make us Thine and make us holy, guard and guide us as we go!”
–Clesis
#346, Hymns of Grace and Truth

I recall a certain time, not long ago, when life seemed particularly stormy and forbidding for me, and all my most cherished dreams seemed to be vanishing in the thickening gloom that was rapidly gathering around me. At that time, I seemed to be focused on the stormy sea, rather than on the One who walks upon the boisterous waves. On a certain day, as I ruminated on the issues that were so weighty and troubling to my thoughts, I suddenly heard the sounds of geese, flying low in the skies above my head. They were gathering into formation, following a circular course above our neighborhood, and honking wildly as they flew. As I turned my face to the heavens, I could hear the reports of their ever-changing position as they circled above me, and at once, I thought to myself how good it would be to take to the air like one of those, and fly to some safe and distant place to rest. I recalled the lines of the old, Gospel song, “I’ll Fly Away”, and longed for the peace and rest of heaven.

In Psalm 55, we read of a time in David’s life, when he was in the midst of a very great trial. I believe this to have been a time when family and trusted friends had turned against the great king, and now they sought his life. We read in verses 12-14, “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company”.

What tormented David’s soul was apparently not so much that his life was being threatened by those who opposed him, but more that these “enemies” had once been trusted friends; they were from the king’s own house. Such things so weighed on David that his very soul cried out for relief. In verses 6-8, we hear the heart’s prayer of the king longing for deliverance and rest: “And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest”.

My dear friend, have you ever felt like this? Did you ever feel that the troubles and trials of life so mounted up on you that you could see no real hope of relief from your stress and sorrow, and you just longed for deliverance and rest. Like David of old, perhaps you longed for wings like a dove, that you might fly far from your troubles, and find shelter in some safe haven where you might have a time of respite from the whirlwind before you. Perhaps you are struggling just now, as you read these lines, because some loved ones or trusted friends have turned on you, or you have been falsely accused by those who were once on your side. Remember, our Lord Jesus Himself was once rejected by those He came to save: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not,” (John 1:10,11). Our Lord Jesus knows well the pain and sorrows of this world, as we read in Hebrews 4:15: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin”.

Is it rest you seek, my dear friend? Perhaps that word “rest” sounds very good to you just now. If so, just listen to the comforting invitation as our Lord Jesus calls to you in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” In Hebrews 4:16, we are invited to come to Him at any time when we are in need of His Grace and help: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”.

Going back to Psalm 55, we observe the case of David, one of God’s beloved children, who was unjustly accused and persecuted by those who were unrighteous, who sought their own gain at the king’s expense. But, rather than flying away, escaping to a place of safety, resigning the battle field to the unrighteous, the Spirit of God would bring David to call upon the Lord, the only One who truly knew his situation, and the only One who could truly deliver. We read in verses 16-17, “As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice”.

My dear friend, are you discouraged or frightened by the trial that is before you just now? Then, like David of old, the Spirit of God would bid you to call upon the Lord for deliverance. Do not be surprised by difficult times when these come. If you are a child of God, you will surely experience disappointments, dangers, and rejection in this scene. We live in a fallen world that is no friend of Grace, yet we are not left on our own, to fear and flee before the enemy’s threatening demonstrations. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul recalled a lesson of dependence , which is good for us to learn as well. The Lord responded to Paul’s requests for the removal of a trial, saying: “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”.

My dear Christian friend, in those times that try the soul, hold fast to Psalm 55:22—this verse is for you to cling to just now: “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved”. Again, we are reminded to cast all our cares on Him, “for He careth for you,” (1 Peter 5:7). It takes faith to cast your burdens on the Lord when all around you seems so threatening, but you can be assured that you will not stand alone in the trial that is before you. All who have trusted Christ as their Savior, can, regardless of the nature of their distress, call upon the One who never changes; who will never, never break His covenant with His people. He will never suffer His children to be moved, come what may in this world. Just think how blessed you and I truly are! Each of us, that is every child of God, can have total confidence in the abiding presence of the Lord, regardless of the difficult circumstance or trial through which we may be required to pass.

But now, what if you have never trusted Christ Jesus as your Savior? If that is your case, I must tell you that you are facing a problem which is actually much more serious than all the disappointments and frustrations of life put together. This problem is one for which there is no remedy on earth, namely sin. The Good News is that God has seen us in our need and has sent His Son to be our Savior, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Will you accept God’s remedy which is being offered to you right now? That remedy is Jesus, and He is the only One that can help. In Acts 4:12 we read, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” It is my prayer for you that you receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior just now. We read in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name….”

“Some bright morning when this life is over
I’ll fly away,
To that home on Gods celestial shore,
I’ll fly away.”
–Albert E. Brumley

In Psalm 46, we find encouragement for the child of God, even in times of great crisis. This confidence is because God is with His people, and He Himself is their refuge in times of trouble. He has a wonderful plan for blessing for His own, and this plan will unfold perfectly, come what may, because He is God.

In II Chronicles 32, we read of a day of great trouble for the people of Judah; however, we see also the miraculous salvation of the Lord, which causes His people to rejoice in Him. This account takes place during the reign of Hezekiah, roughly 700 years before Christ. As you may recall, Hezekiah’s father Ahaz, during his reign, had led the nation away from the worship of God, following closely the pattern of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. The temple worship and the priestly service had been stopped, and all over Judah, the people had been encouraged to worship the false gods of foreign lands rather than the true God. Because of this, judgment had already begun to fall upon this land and its people. But now that Hezekiah reigned, and from the very first month of his reign, this godly king had set his heart to turn things around in Judah. He had cleaned up the temple, removing all the filthiness, he had directed the priests and Levites to consecrate themselves and to resume the service of the Lord, and he had done much to rid the land of the blemish of idol worship. We read in II Chronicles 31:21 regarding the efforts of the king, “And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”

Yet, despite all that Hezekiah did to clean up Judah and return the people of God to the worship of Jehovah, the clouds of war with Assyria were rapidly and thickly gathering on the horizon. The efforts of Ahaz to enlist Assyria’s help during an earlier day of crisis had only served to turn Judah into a tributary of the Assyrian king. Now, years later, Sennacherib had entered Judah and was marching with his enormous host, inexorably advancing on Jerusalem, intent on gobbling up this nation which he felt would be just another in a long list of trophies of war for his empire. So confident was Sennacherib of his ultimate and complete success over Judah with his vastly superior army, that he mocked even the Lord, and taunted the people of God. You can just imagine the scene from the wall of Jerusalem during the siege, with the landscape filled as far as the eye could see by this sprawling Assyrian juggernaut. For the defenders of Jerusalem who were thus surrounded, this picture must have been terrifying in the extreme! Sennacherib mockingly offered Hezekiah 2000 horses if Hezekiah could find enough riders among his relatively tiny host to actually ride them forth into battle against the invaders (Isaiah 36:8). Even so, the defenders of the city, by the reckoning of man, would not have been able to defeat even a fraction of this huge force which was arrayed against them. But, Hezekiah knew that God was with His people. He reassured them, “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah,” (II Chronicles 32:7,8).

Hezekiah’s words in this time of national emergency are, to my mind, a striking example of the truth of Psalm 46 where we read in verses 1-3, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah”. The scene in Hezekiah’s time must have seemed utterly calamitous, just like the description in these verses—the heathen were raging, long established governments were crashing down in the nations all around, and the very existence of Judah itself was being threatened. Yet, in all this stormy trial, the truth of God’s love and care for His people shined brightly through the darkest hours: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”. And, what was true for Hezekiah and the children of Judah in that day, is just as true for Christians today.

My dear friend, how is it with you just now? Perhaps, you are walking a path that is fraught with difficulties, where the days seem endlessly troubled, and the cup before you seems exceedingly bitter. Perhaps there are no great, sprawling armies arrayed against you, but the clouds of sorrow are mounting just the same. Perhaps the news from the doctor regarding your personal health, or that of your loved one is grim; perhaps your life dreams have been shattered, and you are left wondering what comes next. It may be that, like Hezekiah of old, you now hear the ominous sounds of an advancing host threatening to overwhelm you, and relief seems only a fading hope. Take heart, dear friend! The same God who overthrew the vast host of the Assyrians in Hezekiah’s day has His eye on you just now—“The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry,” (Psalm 34:15).
Though we live in very turbulent times, our God has a perfect plan for His people, and this cannot and will not be thwarted by any force or circumstance generating from this world. God’s Word bids us to look forward to the fulfillment of His purposes for His people. We read, “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered his voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.,” (Psalm 46:4-7). The river spoken of here is not a river of water, but rather the river of grace and mercy from our loving God, even the God of the universe, which blesses and sustains His children. The picture here is one of our Lord, enthroned in Jerusalem. He is with His people, and no matter the opposition, the city shall not be moved! Whatever the present trial, we can be comforted to know with assurance that God’s purposes will be fulfilled, and the children of God will be blessed.

In Hezekiah’s time, the Lord delivered His people in a most amazing way. On this day of extreme crisis, God fought the battle for His people, without Judah needing to fire a shot. But, you may have noticed that we are not always spared the battle; and sometimes, our walls may even be breached, and we may feel we cannot long endure. Yet, the promises of God remain sure: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all,” (Psalm 34:19). The Lord has blessing in mind for His people, regardless of how grim the circumstances of the present crisis may seem to be. The children of God, and that means you too if you are a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, can rest with a quiet spirit even amidst great trials, seeing that our Father’s purposes are sure. Though the heathen may rage, we can know that He will act in due time; and His plan never fails! “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah,” (Psalm 46:10-11).

My dear friend, if you are a child of God, then these words of comfort from Psalm 46 are for you. The same God who loved and delivered Judah in that day of crisis so long ago, loves you and has His eye upon you at all times. It is my sincere hope that everyone who reads these words is truly a child of God. But, do you know with certainty that you are His own? You become a child of God when you are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We read, “But as many as received Him (that is, the Lord Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name…,” (John 1:12). Will you believe on the Lord Jesus just now and be saved? I pray that you will. If you have believed on Him as your Savior and Lord, then you are indeed a child of God, and these precious promises of His Word, the Bible, are for you.

So, dear Christian, even if the present trial be great, “be still, and know that I am God.” May we have a quiet spirit, even in the most trying of times, knowing that “the LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” Just think about this–the same Lord who will reign supreme over all the earth, is the very One who is with you in your present trial: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee”, (Isaiah 43:2).

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He amid the flood,
Of mortal ills prevailing;
For still our ancient foe,
Doth seek to work us woe,
His craft and power are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the Right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing;
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabbaoth, His name,
From age to age the same;
And He must win the battle.
–Martin Luther

Recently, I have enjoyed such pleasant Springtime walks along the bike trail south of my home. I sometimes think, as I walk along my path, how much like life this trail seems to be. I never know, when I start out, just what I might encounter on my walk. Sometimes, the breeze is mild, the day magnificent, and those I encounter pleasant and cheerful. Sometimes, however, the wind can be cold, or the day stormy and forbidding, the creek can flood, or there can be stinging insects or other unpleasant encounters. But, this trail, however one finds the attending conditions, always leads me home.

For those who faithfully walk with the Lord in this world, it might seem to make sense that the pathway of life should always be filled with sunshine and soft, warm breezes, and that the sweet smell of clover should fill the air. It might seem that there should be a pleasant and gentle ascent to the top of each hill, with a splendid vista to greet the eye. But, all too often, our path is stony and difficult, with steep uphill climbs, stormy weather, and uncertainty about what one may find around the next bend in the road. Come what may, though, the child of God need not fear, for we have One who watches over us and cares for us all along the way.

In 1 Samuel 21, we read about a time in David’s life, where nothing seemed to be going well. David was the anointed king of Israel, but Saul was yet on the throne, and by this time, Saul intended great mischief towards David. David’s life was in grave danger, so he was compelled to flee with much haste from the presence of the sitting king of Israel. He was, in a very real sense, hunted like a prey, and no place in Israel seemed a safe haven; he even left his country to seek refuge among the Philistines for a time, but that proved to be perilous too, so David escaped, in a most inglorious manner, and returned to his own country. Yet, despite the fact that things seemed to go from bad to worse for David, and that there appeared to be dangers and difficulties at every turn, the words of Psalm 34 do not appear to be the words of one experiencing great difficulties in life: “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together,” (Psalm 34:1-3).

In these beautiful words, we see the heart of the true child of God—a heart in complete dependence upon the Lord, and a spirit of continual praise. What was it, do you think, that caused David to bless the Lord at all times, and to invite the faithful to magnify the Lord with him, even when things were not going very well? I notice that in the words of this Psalm, there is not a hint of bitterness or anger at the way David was being treated by his king, nor frustration over the hardness of the path he was obliged to walk in his early years. David had apparently surrendered his own will to the Lord, and he was satisfied to be totally in His care; and David trusted completely in the love and care of God for His own. We get a feel for David’s spirit in verse 18, and it is this mindset that I believe afforded him such comfort, even in the toughest times, “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit”.
Oh, for such a humble spirit, and a heart given over in dependence upon the Lord—the Lord is nigh to such a one! This is how, I believe, the child of God can walk in quiet confidence with the Lord through this wilderness world, whether in storm or sunshine.

And, does the presence of such stormy days come as a surprise for us? Actually, the Word of God shows us that such times are not unknown, even for faithful believers: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all,” (verse 19). Despite the fact that there were threats and dangers on every side, David could know with assurance that God faithfully watches over His own, and He hears the cries of His people when they are in trouble. In verse 4, we read, “I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. My dear friend, do you have fears? If you are a child of God, then this verse is for you too, no matter where you are at in this world, and no matter how humble your station in life just now. The Lord hears you too, and can deliver you from your fears. One of my favorite verses in this Psalm is verse 6, where we read, “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles”. It is an amazing thing to grasp that the very God of the universe can be called upon by even the most humble of servants, even those not highly esteemed by the world, and the Lord hears and delivers! Whether you are rich or poor, very young or very elderly, healthy or stricken with infirmities, the same God who heard and delivered David, hears and cares about you, right where you are. If you are one of His own, then you can know with assurance, just like David of old, that “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them,” (verse 7; and also that, “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry,” (verse 15).

How is it going for you just now, my dear Christian friend? Sometimes, the path we walk is very stony and steep, and it can seem that we are opposed on all sides, and very much alone. Perhaps you have recently lost your job, or have endured medical issues that have set you on the sidelines of your career, or perhaps these medical problems have threatened your very life. Perhaps, you have lost dear ones, or have had family or friends turn against you for no reasonable cause, and nothing you do seems to make a difference. These are the times that try the soul. Sometimes, discouragement over such events can lead to a bitter heart, which only makes things seem worse. Dear Christian friend, at such times, remember that you are never alone, even on the darkest day, or in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances. The same Lord who had His eye upon His servant David, has His eye upon you just now. The same God who faithfully guided and cared for David, and who delivered him from his troubles, hears your cries as well. As David of old trusted the Lord for deliverance, so we can trust Him as well today: “The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles,” (verse 17); “O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing,” (verses 9-10); ”The LORD redeemeth the soul of His servants: and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate,” (verse 22). The Lord has a plan for your life, and nothing in the universe can prevent Him: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end,” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Finally, my dear Christian friend, can you join David in praising the Lord, as the Spirit invites us to do in verse 3? Have you tasted His goodness, and known His care for you? David surrendered his own will, and walked with the Lord. He learned to trust in His guidance and care, so that come what may, he could say, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him,” (verse 8). Surely, we who have tasted His amazing Grace, who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, can rejoice in the certain love and care of God: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” John 3:16. How could we doubt the love of God, who has given us so much? He has given His only begotten Son to be our Savior, so that through faith in Him, we might have salvation and life. And more than that, being saved, we can come into the presence of our Lord at any time, day or night, to receive grace and help from One who knows the difficulties of this road: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

There is much encouragement for the Christian in Psalm 34. My dear friend, let me ask you plainly–are you a true believer on the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you a Christian? If you have never yet believed on Jesus, you may be finding life’s road very difficult indeed, and your way uncertain and frightening. Why not believe on Him just now, and you can experience rest from your fears and burdens: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,”
(Matthew 11:28).

A couple of years ago, while on a family trip to the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona, I drank in the incredible beauty of the desert landscape through the eyes of my wife and children. It was the first week of June, and all the cacti were in bloom, from the giant saguaro to the prickly pear—rare, I’m told, for that time of year. But just the same, on our mapped out hike along the trail that day, everything as far as the eye could see appeared to be bursting forth with life and color. The early morning air was filled with the songs and chatter of the colorful desert birds, and near our path, a small stream rippled along. Plants were everywhere along this stream; and as I touched certain samples of the foliage near our walkway, I could just feel the vitality of the local flora which defied the arid climate by flourishing on the small amount of available water! And, I marveled at such a display of life and beauty, even in desert places!

As Christians, you and I should manifest abundant and flourishing life, even in a “dry and thirsty land where no water is.” Life, and abundant life, is precisely what each of us who are believers have through our Lord Jesus Christ as a gift of His love. The Lord Jesus said in John 10:10, “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”. But, how do we manifest such life on our wilderness path through a fallen world? Psalm 1, verses 1-3 outline how the child of God flourishes, even in desert scenes.

In the first verse we read, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful”. The people who are of this world have their own objectives which are not guided by the Holy Spirit, and they have their own ways of achieving their desired ends. In Psalm 1, these people are referred to as the “ungodly,” and in verses 4-6, we find that their ways lead to ruin. Despite what might appear to be a positive situation for them, the ungodly will not thrive. Though the children of this world may seem to be successful, and to occupy positions of power, we find in verse 4 that they are without substance really, and will ultimately be swept away like chaff before the wind; they may scoff at the people of God and despise our motives and lifestyle, but they are not to be envied or admired, and certainly not to be emulated. We read in verse 5, “…the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous”. So for the child of God in this world to be blessed and to be a blessing to others, we need to walk in fellowship with the Lord, not to follow the sinful world around us with its ungodly appetites and ways.

So, what should occupy the hearts of the children of God in this scene? We read in verse 2: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night”. I love that word “delight”! For the Christian, reading the Word of God is not just a duty or even a preference, but it is a delight to our souls; the child of God thirsts for the Word day and night, for that is where we receive instruction from the Lord and learn about His will for our lives—that is our sustenance. And when we are occupied with Christ and His Word, and refuse the ways of the world, then we will indeed flourish and be fruitful, showing forth the signs of the life that is within us by His Grace, the new life in Christ; and that for all the world to see—the beautiful character of a Christian life. We read in verse 3, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”.

What a lovely picture is that tree planted beside the river of water! That tree with its beautiful leaves and fruitfulness is just what a child of God should want to be. My dear friend, just like this tree, we Christians have a river—this is the unfailing resource of life that is from God, which we access by occupation with Him and with His Word, and by dependence upon His Grace. This river from God never dries up, and its unfailing resources are there for our daily sustenance. Just like the plants along the creek in the southwestern Arizona desert which I observed, we too can thrive, even in a desert world, showing forth the beauty and vitality of a godly life, and being fruitful in the sight of the Lord, and a channel of blessing for all we encounter. Now, does the world take note of such a testimony? I do believe that even those who are scornful of God and His people must respect the characteristics of a godly life—charity, humility, and moral integrity would certainly be signs of the life within us; leaves marred by worldliness and inconsistency would weaken that testimony for sure. So, what do our leaves look like just now? Are they green and lush, or are they curled and showing signs of dryness and stress? Praise God for His abundant provision for His children!

But, my dear friend, the last phrase in verse 3 reads, “…and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”. Perhaps just now, you are not seeing this prosperity in your life. Perhaps despite all your hard work and tearful efforts, you find failures and disappointments at every turn. Perhaps your way is barred by thorns and rocky ways, and every step is painful and fraught with dangers. Take heart dear Christian, times of difficulty do not change the faithfulness of God. These are just the times where faith comes in to remind us that for the child of God, we are never at the mercy of the circumstances around us. God will use any situation, even the tough times along difficult pathways, to ultimately bless us: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose,” (Romans 8:28). Rough patches in the road are not the signs of failure and doom for the Christian, but are merely opportunities for God to work good in our lives, whether this end is clearly evident to us or not. You can depend on this! The child of God can hold fast to His Word, and trust on Him, daily drinking in His abundant resources that will sustain our vitality: “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me,” (II Corinthians 12:9).

My dear reader, are you a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, then you are one of the righteous being spoken of in Psalm 1. You will be able to thrive and be fruitful, despite the dryness of the land, as you walk in fellowship with Christ and in dependence on Him, regardless of the difficult and unpleasant circumstances that may attend your way. But, on the other hand, if you have never believed on Christ as your personal Savior, then these words will not be of much comfort to you, and you really cannot hope to truly flourish in this life, just as a tree cannot long survive without a source of water. That resource that you desperately need is Christ Jesus. It is my prayer that you believe on Him just now. To the woman of Samaria, the Lord Jesus said, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life,” (John 4:14). That woman believed and received life; then, she told others who also believed on the Lord Jesus. Will you believe and receive life? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16).

In the peaceful stillness of the pre-dawn hours of one cool June morning here in North Iowa, I and my daughter rose up from our beds. With bleary eyes, we made our way down our front walkway, while most of the neighborhood yet slept, and we pushed forward to the bicycle trail south of our house; our objective was to observe the sunrise. This bike trail wound its way southeastward beyond the houses on the extreme southern border of our town, and soon we were in an open field of gently rolling grassland. The morning air was cool, and the silence of this early morning walk was broken only by the rhythmic taps of my cane on the trail, and the sounds of hundreds of birds in their early morning chorus. When we had reached the southern-most extent of the trail, the eastern horizon had begun to lighten just a bit. Then, as we watched with anticipation, a golden glow formed low in the sky, bordered by shades of pink and burnt orange. Soon, the intense gleam of the sun burst forth to our delight, driving the darkness back and cheering our hearts with the realization that a new day had arrived. And there, in the quiet stillness of the early morning, my daughter and I knelt down and began our day in prayer.

The early morning is such a lovely time of day—I do so enjoy the beauty of the dawn. While it is my habit to rise early each day, I often find that the cares of the day rise with me and tend to consume my time and thoughts—getting ready for work, dealing with issues that haven’t as yet developed, worrying about what may be. Yet, if I can but set aside a little time and seclude myself in some way, I find that the early morning is such an excellent time for prayer. While the world yet sleeps, there are few distractions, and one can spend time in unhindered prayer at the beginning of the day.

Our Lord Jesus began His day in prayer as we see in the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. In this portion of Scripture, the Lord Jesus was in Capernaum; and on a certain evening, after the Sabbath had ended, the citizens of Capernaum began to collect at the door of Simon Peter’s home to see Jesus. It seemed that wherever Jesus went, people gathered about Him. On this evening, all the people from the city who had infirmities were coming , because they had heard of the miraculous works of healing which He had done. The news about Jesus had spread all over the region of Galilee. So, they all came to Jesus, and none were turned away. We read in verses 32-34, “And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew Him.” I imagine that the Lord Jesus worked late into the night healing all those who came to Him, providing relief from the misery brought on by sin. It must have been a very late night indeed for our Lord with “all the city” gathering to see Him; and, in the morning, a needy world would again press upon Him. Yet, early the next morning, Jesus set aside a time for prayer—He was up before dawn, and before any of His disciples: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed,” (verse 35).

What was it that caused our Lord Jesus to arise before sunrise and to go forth into a solitary place at such a time of day? It was not the desire to see a beautiful sunrise; but, indeed, it was so that He might spend time alone with His Father in prayer before beginning a new day. This was His time of communion with His Father, and He did not allow that time to be interrupted. Now, if it was important for the Son of God to begin His day in prayer, what about you and me? Perhaps we do not rise up a great while before day, but as children of God, do we not need a daily time of communion with Him through prayer and through reading His Word? When we pray, we talk to God; when we read His Word, God talks to us. This is how we learn His will for our lives, and how we receive instruction in the way in which we should go. This is the time when we can bring our concerns and cares, our anxieties and fears, before the throne of Grace, before the One who Himself walked here below. There before the Throne of Grace, we will find mercy and help, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:15,16).

In our portion in Mark 1, we read that at length, the disciples got up out of bed and began to seek the Lord Jesus. When they found Him, they clearly expected that He would return to Peter’s house as more people with diseases and other concerns were gathering at the door. But, Jesus would not return this day. We read in verses 36-38, “And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.” The Lord Jesus must move on to the next city; He knew the will of His Father for the day before Him because He spent time alone with His Father in prayer. If we would serve the Lord, we must know His will, and I believe we learn that will and receive the grace needed for each day in times of communion with our Lord.

Whether we arise before sunrise, or whether we get up later in the day, it is so critical to the life of a Christian that we spend time alone with our Lord in prayer. Nothing so characterizes a child of God as prayer, for prayer is dependence on the Lord. Are we struggling with anxious fears or temptation? Come quickly to the Lord in prayer. Do we want to know the will of our Father? Be often in prayer—fervent prayer, and that with thanksgiving. We read in Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” In everything, we are to pray, being thankful to God. And, what is the outcome of our prayer and supplication with thanksgiving? “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” (verse 7). When we bring our needs and cares before the Lord fervently, often, and with thanksgiving, God’s peace will guard our hearts in Christ Jesus—that is God’s Word.

My dear friend, are we known for having a consistent pattern of prayer? David was known for coming to God regularly in prayer. In Psalm 5:1-3, we read, “Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Each and every morning, the Lord heard David’s voice; and in Psalm 63:5,6 we read, ”My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.”
He prayed each day, at the beginning of the day for sure, and he prayed and meditated at night as well. We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that the children of God should “pray without ceasing.”

Are you a believer in Christ? Have you trusted Him for salvation? If you have, then you are a child of God. And, that same Lord Jesus who once walked in Galilee, is now at the right hand of the Father; He longs to hear your voice in supplication and He waits to help you—He is only a prayer away. On the other hand, if you have not yet believed on Christ, you will not know this peace of God; you will not know the comfort and help that comes from prayer. The good news is that you can believe on Christ just now and become one of His children through faith in His finished work at Calvary. We read in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”

“Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, that calls me from a world of care, and bids me at my Father’s Throne make all my wants and wishes known; in seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief, and often escaped the tempter’s snare, by thy return, sweet hour of prayer.”
–William Walford, 1845

Jehoshaphat lived and reigned in Jerusalem some 900 years before Christ. He was fifth in the line of David to rule, and in many ways, his reigned showed very well indeed among the kings of Judah. Jehoshaphat followed the LORD, and he encouraged his people to do so as well. And yet, despite this fact, there was a very serious threat looming before Jehoshaphat and his people which they would be required to face. On a certain day, Jehoshaphat received the grim tidings that a massive concentration of three hostile nations from beyond the Salt Sea was threatening his borders. We read, “It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi,” (2 Chronicles 20:1,2).

The threat to Judah, which was now reported to the king, was imminent and most serious. The armies of three nations were even now massing in Engedi; and though their total numbers are not told, it is clear that Judah was outnumbered significantly, and the threat to Jehoshaphat and his nation was serious in the extreme! Jehoshaphat well knew and understood that Judah was in deep trouble. He and his forces would likely be no match for the power arrayed against them, and he well knew that the fight before him was likely to be desperate and deadly at the very least. But Jehoshaphat, as a man of God, knew just what to do when storm clouds gathered. We read in verse 3, “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.” In the face of the present emergency, Jehoshaphat looked to the LORD; he proclaimed a fast all throughout the land, then he gathered up his people and prayed. This was a prayer meeting for all the people, and not just the family leaders, but all the men, their wives, and their little ones—all the people of God gathered together for prayer! Dear friends, this is precisely where the children of God need to be in times of trouble—we ought to be looking with humble hearts to the Lord in prayer. Fervent prayer, which is the sign of dependence, should characterize the people of god. We should be often in prayer, individually and with our whole families, and in particular, we should be apt to pray as an assembly. Verse 12 sums up Jehoshaphat’s prayer and puts the focus of the matter just where it needs to be: “…we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee.” My dear Christian friend, when storm clouds gather, our eyes should be upon the One who “…maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still,” (Psalm 107: 29).

The response of God to this prayer meeting came very quickly! The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel: “…Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. To morrow go ye down against them……. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you,” (verses 15-17).

The Word of the LORD came to Jehoshaphat and the people in order to comfort them with a message of God’s deliverance; but you’ll notice that the children of Judah had to act on God’s direction in faith–their job was to obey and to go forward, despite the gathering storm that weighed on their minds. They were not to take the matter into their own hands and go in haste to enter the fight; nor were they to remain behind the defenses of their city while the LORD acted on their behalf. Can you only imagine the disastrous consequences that might have come had they rushed forth to engage the enemy in their own strength? Can you imagine, on the other hand, the lost opportunity had they remained hidden at home? The next morning, early, just as they had been told to do, they moved together to meet the enemy; and as they advanced, they sang praises to God. The outcome of this joyous advance was nothing short of astonishing as we read in verses 20-24, “And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa…. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for His mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. “

My dear Christian friend, are you burdened just now by some fearful circumstance that has overtaken you, or by some anticipated trial that threatens your peace? Perhaps you are not facing armies of invaders on an actual battle field, but the challenge you now face may be just as real. Christians in this present scene do in fact have a very real foe, and that enemy constantly seeks to intimidate in order to dishearten, if possible, the very people of God. We read in Ephesians 6:12,13, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” To stand in the evil day, we need the Lord; we cannot win the day with our own resources. We need the whole armor of God, that which we can obtain only through communion with Him—reading His Word to know and believe His precious promises, and depending, through constant prayer, on the God who alone saves.

Can you by faith at this time put your eyes upon the Lord rather than upon what you fear? Do put your eyes upon Him; know that if you are a child of God, His eyes are certainly upon you: “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry,” (Psalm 34:15). Can you believe as did Jehoshaphat of old that you will “see the salvation of the LORD”? Whether we must go forward and fight in the strength of the Lord, or whether we are to stand fast and see the salvation of the Lord, we need not fear, for we know with certainty that we can never really lose: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose,” (Romans 8:28). As children of God, we are always in His care, and there is nothing that can prevent His will from being accomplished in our lives. We read in Psalm 121:3, “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved….”

As the children of Judah made their way back to Jerusalem laden with much spoil from the battlefield, that vision of God’s mighty victory over their dreaded enemies must have occupied all their thoughts. I’m sure that they hadn’t known what to expect early on as they drew near the enemy’s position; but as the battle field came into view, instead of seeing file upon file of armed men covering the field before them with shields shining in the morning sun and battle flags fluttering in the breeze, they witnessed instead the grisly remnants of three utterly destroyed armies. The bodies of those they had feared now covered the whole plain, and this without them shooting a single arrow, or thrusting a single spear. The victory had been all accomplished as they yet marched toward the place where the enemy had gathered, and that by the hand of God alone. their only job now was to pick up the spoil and enjoy the fruits of a great victory. We read that they returned to Jerusalem with joy: “…for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies,” (verse 27).

My dear friend, we who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ have experienced an even greater victory than this! We were once lost and ruined by sin; and the terrible prospect of certain judgment had loomed before us. Then, at just the right time, Christ Jesus came and gave Himself for us: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly,” (Romans 5:6). He shed His precious blood to purchase our pardon, and He bowed His head in death, that we might have life! Christ won the mighty victory for us on that cross of Calvary, and now we rejoice–we have forgiveness for our sins, and salvation through faith in Him; we now are the recipients of blessings beyond all that we could ever have imagined!

Have you yet believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation? If you have not, it is the prayer of my heart that this very day you will hear and believe: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16).

“With Christ our theme begins,
The Lord of truth and love;
When He had purged our sins,
He took His seat above.
Our hearts are glad; we raise the voice; The Lord has made us to rejoice.
(Hymns for the Little Flock, #130)

One morning in early June, I sat alone on a beach on Corpus Christi Bay enjoying the beauty and solitude of the moment. The sun was very warm, yet the breeze from the bay was fresh and cool; the sky was a burning blue, and the water sparkled in the morning sunlight. Off in the distance towards the mouth of the bay, a small white sail gleamed against the cloudless horizon; and the only sounds to be heard were the calls of the gulls overhead, and the rhythmic report of each wave as it rolled up onto the sandy shore. How beautiful and utterly peaceful the world seemed to be at that moment. Yet, in a few short hours, the peace of this scene was shattered by dark clouds, high winds, and violent waves. Have you noticed how quickly our circumstances in this world can change? And yet, for the child of God, the one thing that never changes, regardless of our circumstances, is the care of our Lord for His own: “…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” (Hebrews 13:5).

As we read Acts 27, we find the Apostle Paul on board a ship, headed for Italy. This was not a pleasure trip in any sense of the word; Paul was being conducted to Rome, as ordered by Festus, one of the Roman governors, there to stand trial for his life before the imperial head of the Empire. As we begin this chapter, we find Paul in the charge of one Julius, a Roman centurion, whose job it was to see that Paul arrived in Rome for his trial. We read in verse 1, “And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band.”

From the world’s perspective, this entire scene might be considered to be anxiety provoking in the extreme; however, even though Paul was a prisoner of Rome and was on his way to trial before the most powerful heathen ruler of that day, he was not alone, nor was he afraid. He knew that he was in the center of God’s will, even under such circumstances. Back in Acts 23, the Lord had stood with Paul and had revealed to him His plan while a violent mob in Jerusalem yet sought the apostle’s life: “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome,” (verse 11). Paul could be of good cheer despite all his apparent troubles. Regardless of the stormy clouds that were gathering, the plan for Paul was the Lord’s; and come what may, the Lord would be with him, and Paul would arrive safely in Rome just as it had been revealed to him. He had the assurance of the Word of God.

My dear Christian friend, have you ever been discouraged when things did not go well for you? Perhaps, you cried unto the Lord with all your heart, yet the trial seemed to persist beyond what you thought you could endure. Times like this can be very lonely and frightening; but, if you are a child of God, you are never really alone: “…lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen,” (Matthew 28:20).

Paul knew that he must go to Italy, and that this was the will of the Lord for him; yet even the voyage to fulfill God’s plan seemed fraught with serious difficulties. Still, early on, things did appear to be going relatively well. Paul was allowed to travel with his companions, the seas were calm enough, and even Julius was courteous and respectful of his prisoner as we read in verses 2 and 3, “And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself.” The smooth sailing, however, did not last. Too much time was spent on the southern coast of Crete, and it was perhaps September or October before the captain decided to launch from the Fair Havens, against the counsel of Paul. Then began a perilous adventure on the high seas that lasted a fortnight, and threatened the lives of everyone on board the ship. We read in verses 13-20, “And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.”

From the description above, you can just imagine the fearful ordeal for Paul and the entire ship’s company as the vessel clawed its way along the southern coast of Crete. . Things were going well, when suddenly and without warning, the ship was hit by hurricane force winds making further progress in the desired direction quite impossible; in order to keep from immediate disaster, the ship was forced to turn and be driven before the wind, which would have placed it on a course heading for the middle of the Mediterranean and ultimately the North African coast. The winds did not abate for two weeks, and during that entire time, the skies were black such that no bearings could be taken or landmarks seen; the seas throughout that time were high, violently rocking the ship such that it was in danger of coming apart at its seams. Imagine the ferocity of the howling winds and the angry sea, the creaking of the beams, and the ripping of sail. The salty spray and the violent waves would have washed fiercely over the deck as the ship pitched and rolled in the blackness, hour by hour for seemingly endless days. There was no time to eat or sleep, and all energy must be devoted to the job of keeping the ship afloat by jettisoning cargo and equipment, and by heroic attempts to keep the vessel intact. Such would have been the desperate struggle for Paul and his shipmates, and it went on without respite for a couple of weeks, until the physical capacity of all on board was utterly spent, and death appeared to be imminent.

Most on board lost hope, but not Paul. Throughout the ordeal, Paul held firm to the promise of God, and so he was able to be a source of encouragement, strength, and even leadership for everyone on board, including the captain and the Roman guard. Paul, the prisoner, addressed the ship’s company in verses 22-25, “And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”

Amid raging storm and failing hearts, Paul could bid his fellow passengers and crew to be of good cheer, “for I believe God.” Even in the very midst of the trial, the Lord was with His servant, and He reassured him with the precious promises of His Word. God’s Word was evidence enough for Paul, even though the storm continued to rage around him. Indeed, after the Word of the Lord was given, there were yet more emergencies to come including an attempted abandonment by the crew, fear of crashing on the rocks, and finally the beaching of the ship and its breaking up such that all were cast into the sea. But all on board were spared, just as the Lord had said. During the crisis, Paul believed God, that it would all happen just as the Lord had revealed to him, even though the storm continued to rage after the angel’s words were spoken.

My dear Christian friends, do you believe God? Do you take Him at His Word, despite what you see with your eyes? Alas, sometimes we fail to see Him in the storms of life because our eyes are focused on the storm, and not on Him. Yet, His eyes are ever upon us: “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry,” (Psalm 34:15). We have so many precious promises in His Word that we can cling to in even the most trying of circumstances. Yet, how often do we look for that fleece in order to believe, like Gideon of old (Judges 6:37-40); how often do we refuse to believe what the Lord has already told us, like Thomas after the Lord had risen (John 20:25)? Do we really need a tangible sign from the Lord in order to trust that He continually cares for us? How blessed we are when we can simply believe what He has told us in His Word. We read of His good intentions towards His own in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” We read in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose”. Come what may in this life, God is ever vigilant, and He will keep and preserve His own: “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber,” (Psalm 121: 3).

My dear friend, it is my prayer that all who read these words have trusted Christ as your Savior. If that is so, then be of good cheer, and hold fast His Word which will encourage your souls, even though the storms around you may rage: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God,” (Psalm 43:5). On the other hand, if you have not yet trusted in Christ for salvation, I pray that you hear His loving call right where you are, and believe on Him just now: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:28). Be of good courage dear friend, no one who believes on Christ for salvation will be lost!

The Lord Jesus was coming down from the top of the mountain where He had been transfigured. With Him were Peter, James, and John who had witnessed all that had happened up there. Can you imagine the exhilarating experience that the transfiguration scene must have been for these disciples? They had been on the top of the world, so to speak. They had been far removed from the cares and concerns of this life, seeing their Lord, Moses, and Elijah in the glory that illuminated the mountain top on this day, and hearing the voice of God! I can’t imagine anything on this earth that could compare! But this was all past now, and they must return to the world below—a world very like our own, with the concerns and problems of life at every turn. Perhaps you’ve had the experience of having been with the Lord’s people or in His Word, and you were lifted up greatly, only to awaken the next morning to find the real world and all its cares before you. That is always a very difficult descent.

As the Lord Jesus came down from the mountain with His three disciples, He was greeted by a vigorous discussion going on between His other disciples and a great multitude. In verse 14 we read, “And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.” There was a lot of excitement in the crowd on this day, and when they saw Jesus, we read that they ran to Him. I’m sure that when the crowd got to Jesus, they were all out of breath, and all talking at once so that it was hard to tell what was happening. When Jesus asked the scribes what they had been questioning the disciples about, they didn’t get much of a chance to answer. One in the crowd was very concerned about his son on this day, and he spoke up to tell what this was all about. He was the father of a boy who had an evil spirit, and this spirit would grip the boy in periodic attacks and cause him to fall to the ground losing all control of his body. At times, the boy was near water or fire when the foul spirit attacked him, and his health and even his life was clearly in danger. This man had brought his son to Jesus for healing, but Jesus had been away on that mountain. So, the father had tried to get the disciples to cast out the demon, but they had failed. As hope was fading in this heartsick father, the Lord Jesus Himself had come on the scene. Hence the father’s excitement as he spilled out his tragic story (verses 17-22).

Can you identify with this father? If you’ve ever had a critically sick child, I’m sure that you can relate to his desperate tones. When a loved one was hurting or in danger, did you ever feel that the Lord seemed far away? You prayed with all your heart, but nothing seemed to happen, and you asked yourself, “why does the Lord not act? Does He not hear me? Does He not realize?” To this distraught father, the love and power of the Savior must have seemed very far away. The father’s heart is revealed as he blurts out (verse 22), “…but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.” If Thou canst do anything? Did this father realize who he was talking to? Like the entire crowd, I think this man sensed that Jesus could help, and this is why he and the entire throng had run to Jesus with such excitement when they saw Him coming. But Jesus had seemed so far away when the father had first sought His help, and even now, things were not happening quickly; perhaps the man was beginning to feel that the Lord was not willing to help. the desperation in his heart was growing as the emergency of the moment seemed to climax. The Lord Jesus responded, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (verse 23). At this point, the man cried out with tears of desperation in words that touch our souls, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

These seem to be desperate words, but they are honest. This is where the rubber meets the road for many of us, isn’t it? We know that the just shall live by faith, and we truly desire that; but the realities of the world sometimes seem very threatening to our senses. And yet it is at just these times when faith would have us call upon the name of the Lord (Psalm 50:15, “and call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”) Once when the disciples were on a stormy sea, shortly after the feeding of the five thousand (Matthew 14:22-33), the Lord Jesus was again on a high hill far away from them. He was praying for them while others slept. But it must have seemed to the disciples that He, being so far away, didn’t know their peril—yet He came to them in their hour of need in the fourth watch of the night and calmed the sea.
Another time (Luke 24:13-35), there were two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and they were troubled deeply about all that had happened in Jerusalem concerning the trial and crucifixion of the Lord. Perhaps they felt alone, and that the heaviness of their hearts was only known between them as they walked along. Yet it was the Lord Jesus Himself who knew their thoughts and came to them and walked with them at just such a time, opening the scriptures and comforting their hearts. Our Lord Jesus may be above in the glory with the Father right now, but He is the same Lord Jesus who comforted and cared for His disciples when walking in this scene. Though He is in glory, He knows the cares and needs of His own, and He hears our cries and sees every tear.

Well, the heart of this despairing father was rejoiced in the healing of his son, and faith was strengthened this day (verses 25-27). But what about the disciples? They had tried to heal this boy on their own but had failed. Now they wondered, asking the Lord why they couldn’t cast out the foul spirit. Have you ever experienced that kind of let down? Perhaps in faith, you set out to do great things for the Lord, only to see nothing come of your efforts. The words of the Lord in verse 29 might remind us where our power really is, “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Let us be constantly before the Lord in prayer, seeking His power and not trusting in ourselves. Prayer is the sign of dependence on the Lord, and it should be the constant and evident characteristic of the people of God. “Pray without ceasing,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Phil. 4: 6,7: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

As we read these lovely verses in the first chapter of Mark, we find the Lord Jesus, early in His earthly ministry, walking along the Sea of Galilee.  It must have been a fair day, because He saw men in ships out in the sea and along the shore, busily engaged in their life’s occupation of fishing. If you have ever walked along a shoreline on a nice day, I’m sure you are familiar with the sights and sounds of the sea.  I expect the Lord Jesus heard the sounds of sea gulls, watched the rhythmic rush of the waves rolling onto the beach, and I expect there was the faint smell of fish on the breeze.  In verse 16 we read that as Jesus walked along the shore, He looked out and saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net for they were fishers. He called to them in verse 17 as we read, “And Jesus said unto them, “Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” 

How could these fishermen become fishers of men?  Simon and Andrew knew well how to catch and process fish, for that had been their life’s occupation up to that point, and I’m sure they knew this work inside and out.  When I was a boy, my father often took me fishing.  He loved fishing and knew a lot about it.  I didn’t necessarily share his love for fishing, but I did love to be with him.  And, he certainly knew how to catch fish!  He knew where to find fish running, what to use for bait, and when to set the hook.  Most importantly, he was patient and persistent, and these are critical traits for a good fisherman.  When I followed his instructions, I caught fish!  I expect the same is true of being a “fisher of men.”  The Lord Jesus was calling Simon, Andrew, James and John to an entirely new occupation, and the way to be successful was to follow Jesus—“Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”  At the calling of Jesus, these men dropped what had occupied them most in life and followed Jesus.  What are we occupied with?

Now, what was it like for the disciples to “come after” Jesus?  As we read further in our portion, we see what the disciples saw as they went along after Jesus.  We read of Jesus teaching in the synagogue on the sabbath (verse 21), and we read in verse 22, “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.”  The Lord Jesus spoke with the authority that was lacking in the scribes because He spoke what He knew to be true, and He  lived it.  How very sad when we hear so called ministers of the Word who are merely reciting words without any real conviction.  Each of us who are Christians are privileged to be channels of light to the hearts of those around us who are lost, and we should therefore speak His Word with authority and conviction.  “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,”( II Cor. 4:6).

Following on in this portion, we see the Lord Jesus ministering to others, reversing the misery brought on by sin through the healing power of God.  He cast out a demon in verses 23-27, and in verses 29-31, He healed the mother-in-law of Simon.  At evening, people from all over Capernaum began to collect at the house of Simon to see Jesus and be healed by Him.  It must have seemed that everyone wanted to be near Jesus, for we read in verse 33, “And all the city was gathered together at the door.”  The people of this region knew who had the words of healing and life, and they wanted to be near Jesus.

 You and I today live in a world where the misery brought on by sin is evident all around us.  Souls are crying out for help and relief, and we can minister to those in our corner of the world through the healing words of the gospel.  Weary hearts all over the world are longing to hear words of comfort and hope like those of our Lord Jesus in His tender invitation: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls,” (Matthew 11:28,29).

Finally, we read in verse 35, “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”  Our Lord Jesus, in the work that was before Him, valued communion with His Father at the beginning of the day.  While others yet slept, He was up and out to a solitary place where He could be alone in prayer.    Prayer is a sign of dependence on God, and it should characterize all Christians.  The Lord Jesus found this time alone with the Father to be important enough that He got out of bed way before others, and sought a solitary place where He could begin the day speaking to and listening to His Father.  It should be no less important for us.  Yet, often enough, when weighed down by the burdens and cares of life, I find myself sleeping in when I could be having communion with the Father.  Brethren, we need time apart for prayer at the beginning of the day, before we set out on even the most routine activities—time to be alone with the Father.  Like the Lord Jesus, we should be known for prayer, as we read in Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints…”

  When the disciples finally got up, they came after the Lord Jesus, and in verses 37 and 38 we read, “And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.  And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.”  The message from the disciples was that all men sought for Jesus.  The men around Capernaum sought Him indeed, most likely because of His marvelous works.  But the Lord Jesus had others to preach to as well, and He must be about the work that was given Him to do.  His Father’s will was that He go on to the next towns, regardless of the popular support He had right there.  And how did He know the Father’s will?  He had been with the Father early in the morning in prayer, so He knew what the work before Him was to be for that day.  Are we following the Lord Jesus?  To follow the Lord Jesus, we must spend time with Him and learn of Him; and in so doing, we become more like Him.  Our job is to follow Jesus—He knows best how to prepare us to do His work.  “Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”

Many years ago, as the fact of my diminishing eyesight began to weigh heavily on my mind, I can remember becoming very anxious about my future.  Specifically, there was a growing sense of urgency to sell my business and to move to another area and find a different line of work; the grim realities of blindness were looming ominously before me.  The door appeared to be closing on my chosen career as well as on all of my cherished dreams to that point, and I simply could not discern the path ahead.  After expressing many an anxious thought, a good Christian friend advised, “Rest this thing with the Lord; He has the plan all clearly in view, but you must look to Him in faith.  And, do not be surprised if the answer doesn’t come until the last minute—God often acts at the eleventh hour.” My dear friend, have you noticed that God often acts at the eleventh hour?  I believe that is by design—it may sometimes seem that our prayers are not heard because we might see nothing happening that appears to change our circumstances; but be assured, the God of the universe is working on behalf of His children, and He hears our prayers!  Looking back now, I can clearly see God’s hand on the course of events in my life.  My answer did come, but not till the eleventh hour, and though His path carried me far from what I had previously known, I can see the miracle now and own that I have been blessed beyond what I could have imagined.  What an amazing God we have!  Not only does He hear and act upon the prayers of His children, but He is able to turn around what seems to be a disaster, and that even when the hour is very late, and all hope seems to be dwindling! 

I believe we see in Acts 12:1-12 a vivid example of this mighty power to deliver, even at the eleventh hour.  The church was being persecuted in those days.  The Gospel was being preached in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea, and in Samaria, just as the Lord had said (Acts 1:8). But, in the wake of this growing testimony of the power of the Gospel, the enemies of Grace pushed back violently.   Stephen had been martyred by this time, and Saul of Tarsus had led the charge to persecute Christians wherever he could find them. King Herod, anxious to solidify his relationship with the Jews, had now begun to afflict the church as we read in verses 1-3: “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.  And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)”James, one of the sons of Zebedee, had been taken and killed by the command of Herod; and, now it was to be Peter!  Peter had been arrested, but Herod knew that it wouldn’t do to put Peter to death during a Jewish feast; so, he was locked away  and heavily guarded until those days were over—then, he was to be brought forth and executed.  And, Herod wanted nothing to go wrong with this plan, so he placed Peter in what would be considered maximum security for that day—a carefully watched cell deep within a prison, separated from the outside world by a heavy iron gate.  Peter was guarded by a total of 16 armed men devoted entirely to keeping him secured.  These 16 men were highly motivated to guard Peter well, as the penalty of that day for letting prisoners escape was certain death. Furthermore, Peter had chains upon his hands, and two armed guards close by at all times, one on one side of him, and one on the other.  There could be no escape, or at least, that is what Herod must have thought as he set this plan in place.  While it was quite true that the Christians in that area could not deliver Peter themselves, they did not at all seem to find the situation before them to be hopeless.  In verse 5 we read, “Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.”  Prayer was made without ceasing, even though to all appearances, the prospects for Peter were very bleak.  Sometimes I have heard people say, “well, all we can do now is pray.”  My dear friend, prayer is precisely the correct response of the children of God in the face of any type of emergency; prayer is a sign of dependence on the Lord, and it should be one of the chief characteristics of the children of God—we should be a people of prayer.  But, how often do we seek to take the burdens and emergencies of life upon ourselves?  That tendency can only lead to worry.  We must pray, and then rest our concerns with the Lord.  We read these very comforting words in Philippians 4:6: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”  And, what is the result of this prayer and supplication with thanksgiving?  “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” (Phil 4:7).

We need to pray, and that at all times, for this is the expectation of God for His children.  We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  Regardless of the circumstances, we are to pray, and that without ceasing—these are the things that should characterize Christians, come what may.

I wonder if we see an example of that “peace of God which passeth all understanding” keeping Peter’s heart in Acts 12:6?  There we read, “And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.”  Just imagine this situation!  It was deep in the night, perhaps the very early hours of the morning of the day when Herod would bring Peter forth before the people in order to do his worst.  Peter was well secured, with no obvious hope of relief from the outside, and perhaps there would be just minutes or at most a few hours of time left to him before his execution, yet we find Peter sleeping soundly.  His sleep was so deep that when the deliverance came in the person of the angel of the Lord, Peter had to be awakened firmly: “And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands,” (verse 7).  It was indeed the eleventh hour, and Peter was in what the world might call a hopeless situation; but, none of this is any problem for the God of Salvation!  We read that Peter’s bonds fell away as he stood, and unchallenged by those 16 armed guards who were charged with his security, he passed with the angel through the checkpoints of each ward, and watched the heavy iron gate that prevented his freedom to swing open like an automatic door in a modern public building.  And, suddenly, Peter was free in the city; and the tables were soon to be turned on those who previously sought his life!

My dear Christian reader, I do not know the hard realities that may now be weighing on your mind, but I know there is One who has numbered the very hairs of your head; He knows your sorrows and fears, and each and every teardrop you may have shed has been noted as we read in Psalm 56:8: “Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?”  The God of the universe loves His children, and He has His eye on us at all times; He  is quite able to save, and nothing can prevent Him.  It may be that we will not necessarily be delivered from death the way Peter was in the portion above; we read in this very account that James’ life was poured out while the life of Peter was spared.  But, I do know that come what may, the child of God is never alone: “…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” (Hebrews 13:5). Why do we worry so?  There is no situation that is too difficult for the Lord–our God can do anything!  There is no limit to God’s ability to deliver, despite what might appear to be overwhelming circumstances. Jonathan did not need an army at his back in order to win the day in 1 Sam. 14.  He took only his armor bearer with him when he attacked and defeated a group of 20 Philistines saying, “come and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us, for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few,” (verse 6).  The Lord delivered the badly outnumbered Jonathan by His power such that even the enemies of Israel were astonished.  My dear Christian friend, do not take upon yourself the cares and anxieties of this life.  The One who truly is able to deliver bids you to rest all with Him: “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you,” (1 Peter 5:7). Now, these may be comforting words indeed for the child of God; on the other hand, if you are not a believer on Christ, there is yet good news for you:  this same God who miraculously delivered Peter so long ago, knows your situation, and He wants you to trust Him for your salvation.  He loves you very much, so much that He once sent His Son into the world to die for your sins, that by believing on Him, you might receive life: ”For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16).

In the verses of 1 Samuel 7, we read of a time when the nation of Israel faced a very serious trial indeed.  In the chapters leading up to this portion, we see that Israel had been serving false gods, and God had allowed an enemy, the Philistines, to push their way into Israel and to occupy several cities.  At least 20 years previous to the time of this account in chapter 7, Israel had been badly defeated in a battle with these Philistines.  Instead of seeking God’s deliverance from their enemies, the children of Israel had come up with their own solution; they called for and had brought up into their camp the ark of the covenant.  This had not at all been God’s will for them, and things certainly didn’t work out the way the people thought they would. The Israelites apparently had felt that with the ark in their camp, they would be invincible before their enemies.  How shocking it must have been for the Israelites to discover their error that day–when the battle was rejoined, Israel suffered its worst defeat ever—not only was their army routed, and the sons of Eli killed, but the ark itself fell into Philistine hands.  God did ultimately send the ark back to Israel, but even so, the Philistines pretty much dominated Israel for the intervening years. 

Now, as we begin 1 Samuel 7, we read that the hearts of the people were finally changing.  We read, “And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.  And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve Him only: and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only,” (1 Samuel 7: 2-4).

The hearts of the children of Israel were finally ready to repent and seek the Lord, and God raised up a faithful man to lead his people.  Notice the order of events: “And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.  And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh,” (1 Samuel 7:5-6).

Samuel called all the people together at Mizpeh for prayer and fasting, and the people poured out water before the LORD as a sign of their repentance, and they confessed their sins.  So, the purpose of this meeting was for the people to get right with God; but, the lords of the philistines looked upon this gathering with great concern.  To them, it must have appeared to have been a military threat, perhaps a concentration of forces as a prelude to rebellion; and, whatever it was, the lords of the Philistines were determined to put a stop to it. 

You may have noticed that in this world that we live in, when the people of God publicly set out to serve the Lord, there is often strong opposition. So, we see that at the very time of Israel’s re-commitment to the Lord, the Philistines gathered up in force and marched on Mizpeh, determined to deal with the threat.  The news of this well equipped, organized army advancing on their position struck fear into the hearts of the Israelites who were not at all expecting battle at that point.  We read in verse 7, “And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.”  God’s people were afraid, but this time, the children of Israel looked to the Lord for their deliverance.  We see them calling on Samuel to pray diligently for them, and this he did.  What happened after that was nothing short of amazing!  “And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him.  And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.  And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar,” (verses 9-11).

I have no doubt that the sight of this hostile force advancing on Mizpeh was frightening in the extreme for the children of Israel.  Israel had gathered to seek the Lord, and I doubt they had made any preparations at all for war with the Philistine army.  The outcome could only be disastrous, at least as viewed through the eyes of the flesh!  But, Israel called upon the name of the Lord, and that is always the difference for the child of God!  God intervened in a miraculous way, taking the battle entirely out of the hands of His people.  He caused a thundering that sent the once proud and mighty Philistines into a panic driven retreat.  The men of Israel then came out of their camps and pursued the hostile army which was fleeing in confusion, destroying by degrees what had appeared to be the overwhelming power of the Philistines, and throwing off their yoke.  What a grand victory, and it was all the Lord’s!  Who could have predicted such an outcome?  But, with God, all things are possible.  We read in Romans 8:31, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” 

Now, in the aftermath of this great victory, an event took place near Mizpeh that I think we should take note of.  We read in verse 12, “Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.”  That name “Ebenezer” means “rock of help,” and Samuel set up a stone as a reminder that here in this place, the Lord had delivered His people.  But, the language Samuel used was “hitherto hath the LORD helped us”.  The Lord not only helped His people at Mizpeh, but had been helping them all along the way thus far; and if He was with His people up to that time, certainly He would be with them in the future!  Now, there is something  wonderful here, I think,  for the children of God of all generations; this is something for you and for me, my dear Christian friend.  God’s care for His people is not just at one point in time, past or present; it is on-going over the years, and this fact is true for those who are His children, despite our circumstances.  Looking at a time When God intervened in our lives in a personal and powerful way, like naming the stone Ebenezer, serves to remind us of His on-going care for us.

Dear Christian friend, do you not have an “Ebenezer” that you can look back upon?  Isn’t there some time in your past that you can recall, where the Lord reached out to you personally in your hour of need in such a way that there could be no mistaking His intervention?  What an exciting thing to witness the Lord’s hand reaching out to you in a personal way!  You might well declare as Samuel of old, “hitherto hath the LORD helped us”!  we do well to remember the faithfulness of the Lord in our own lives.  But, even if you can’t point to such a time in your recent memory, you can know from His Word that God cares for His own, and He is faithful, come what may.  Jeremiah knew well the difficult times that Judah had before them with their coming captivity and deportation, yet he, by the Spirit of God, could speak confidently of the good things that God had in mind for His people.  He could put the people in remembrance of the everlasting kindness and faithfulness of God: “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD,” (Lamentations 3:22-26).

Perhaps you are experiencing some great challenge just now, or perhaps you have some dreaded issue weighing on your mind–some troubling event which lies somewhere on the road before you.  Perhaps you see ominous clouds forming on your horizon, foretelling of a great storm through which you must pass at length.  Remember, our Lord can easily deal with the storms of this world as we read in Psalm 107: 29, ”He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still”.  And, my dear Christian friend, whatever your path, you do not walk alone, “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” (Hebrews 13:5).  And again, we read: “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” (Matthew 28:20). Are you troubled in your spirit by what is before you?  Our Lord Jesus will take away that fear and replace it with peace: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,” (John 14: 27).  My dear friend, it is my prayer that all who read these words have trusted Christ as your Savior.  If that is so, then be of good cheer, and hold fast His Word which will encourage your souls: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God,” (Psalm 43:5).  On the other hand, if you have not yet trusted in Christ for salvation, I pray that you  hear His loving call right where you are, and believe on Him just now: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:28).

Elijah the Tishbite was an obedient servant of God in a land where God had been neglected and ignored for many years.  We do not hear about him prior to chapter 17 of 1 Kings, but we certainly do read about the deplorable state of affairs in the nation of Israel in those days.  Ahab was arguably the worst of a long line of kings in Israel; these kings had entirely forgotten about God, and collectively, they had led their nation into a state of spiritual depravity.  A good friend once described for me the effects of sin in the following simile:  sin is like a pebble dropping into a pond; the ripples go out in all directions, and many in distant places are affected. So it was with the sins of the kings of Israel in those days; the nation had by and large followed the example of their kings, and there were precious few in the land who yet stood for God.  But, Elijah was God’s man in this sad scene, and we see in James 5:17 that he prayed for God’s intervention to turn the hearts of the people back to God: “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.” 

Elijah was a man “subject to like passions as we are.”  It comforts me to know that!  Elijah was not a superman; he did not have the power in and of himself to change the hearts of his countrymen, nor to close up the heavenly storehouses of rain in order to cause his fellow Israelites and their king to finally look up and repent.  But, he was a man who trusted in the God for whom nothing is impossible.  We read that he prayed earnestly for God’s intervening hand, and surely he believed that his petition was granted.  Then, this man of faith went before Ahab to deliver his hard message about the coming drought.  We read in verse 1, “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

Elijah had obediently delivered God’s message to a godless king, and this certainly did not endear him to Ahab; speaking the truth about sin and the need for repentance in this world often elicits a very negative response.  But, Elijah was faithful in delivering this message despite the possibility of having to endure the wrath of the king.  He was also willing to trust in God for what would come next: “And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there,” (verses 2-4.  I don’t know what Elijah expected after delivering his hard message to Ahab, but I doubt he could have guessed that God would send him out into a wilderness place to be fed by ravens.  Still, in accordance with the word of the Lord, Elijah went east to Cherith, and there by the lonely banks of this wandering stream, he was protected and cared for by God.  We read in verses 5-7, “So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.  And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.”

Can you imagine this scene?  I had a book of Sunday School stories when I was a child, and this story was one I vividly remember.  The picture showed Elijah sitting on the bank of a stream with his hands stretched towards the heavens, and he was looking at a long line of ravens trailing back toward the cloudless horizon; they were flying towards him, and each carried a piece of food in its beak to deliver to the outstretched hand of the man of God. For me, this picture strikingly portrays the place of dependence where I believe God would have His servants to be.  God was protecting Elijah from the wrath of Ahab by removing him from the king’s presence during the time that the drought would have it’s effect on the land.  Yet, the simple truth of it is that Elijah too would be touched by the very drought he had prayed for, and God would use this whole experience to accomplish another purpose.

Did you ever wonder how Elijah became such a man of faith?  We are not told in this portion, but I have to believe that many hours in Elijah’s life were spent learning the lessons of faith through the trials that God allowed in his life.  Here, this faithful man of God would be obliged to spend lonely hours in a desolate place, trusting only in the sustaining hand of God. I truly believe that faith and dependence are some of the most important things that the child of God must learn in this world, and we learn best through the trials that attend our way.

Elijah was a faithful man of prayer, yet consider his lonely vigil in the eastern wilderness.  He sat alone by his brook, his only companionship being the ravens which God had commanded to feed him.  What a humbling situation!  I do not know what Elijah’s customary diet had been previously, nor whether he found his new rations to be especially palatable.  But, God faithfully cared for His servant in this desolate place.  Whatever his previous occupation had been, Elijah was no longer able to provide for himself, and he now sat in  loneliness, waiting prayerfully for each and every bite of food he was to receive for that particular day, not knowing what the plan would be for the next day—only that God would provide.  Eventually, due to the drought in the land, even the stream itself, which provided life sustaining water, dried up; yet this man of God must still wait.  God had a plan for His servant—He always does.  But doesn’t it seem that God’s plan is often not revealed until the eleventh hour?  In this case, the stream had to first dry up leaving Elijah with no clear direction, then came the Word of the Lord showing the path of blessing for this servant: “And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee,” (verses 8,9).

My dear friend, perhaps you have sat by Cherith—perhaps you are sitting there just now.  It may be that you have been faithful in prayer and have done your best to follow the Lord, yet you are now experiencing times that try the soul.  Perhaps those who once stood with you now despise you, or your health has failed, or the economy or other circumstances have claimed your job.  Perhaps natural calamities have drastically affected your life and the lives of those around you, and the way for tomorrow seems uncertain and even forbidding.  Such times are difficult, but they are not unexpected for the child of God in this fallen world.  Our path through this life is a path that surely leads to glory; yet, God brings His children through many trials along this wilderness way.  Recall the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to the saints who were suffering persecution for their faith at Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Acts 14:22, “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”  Yet, come what may in this world, we have the assurance of the presence of our Lord in every circumstance, “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” (Hebrews 13:5). 

In this account of Elijah which we have read, it occurs to me that Elijah himself had to experience loneliness and isolation in a desolate place, and also the effects of the drought, even though he himself had not forgotten God.  Yet, God certainly used the experience to strengthen Elijah’s faith, and also to teach his servant a further lesson in dependence.  God often uses the trials that are allowed into the lives of His saints to teach and perfect them.  I think of the Apostle Paul who presented the Gospel so faithfully all over the Roman world, and who by faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit healed many with infirmities among those he encountered.  Yet, God allowed an affliction to enter the life of this faithful witness to the Gentiles which even repeated prayer would not remove as we read in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10,

“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”  We are not told exactly what the thorn was that Paul was obliged to experience , and I think I’m glad that this is the case.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit purposely left that part untold so that we would not get the idea that God’s gracious words were intended for only one situation; that you or I might be able to find comfort in seeing God’s hand in our own particular circumstance just now. 

My dear Christian friend, as you sit on that lonely bank waiting moment by moment for the sustaining Grace of God, may you hear His loving voice calling to you, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

“Great is Thy faithfulness! great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided- Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”

Far to the northeast of Jerusalem, somewhere near the ancient city of Babylon, was a river or a canal called Chebar.  It was along this stream, perhaps 26 centuries ago, where the children of Israel experienced one of the saddest times in all of their history.  The utter humiliation of this once proud people, and the uncertainty of their  future, was no doubt troubling in the extreme for many who were gathered here.  By way of background, the events recorded in the first three verses of Ezekiel occur during the deportation of the people of Judah to Babylon.   Recall that the nation of Israel had long since become lax in their devotion to the things of the Lord, and that idolatry had become rampant throughout the land.  The kings of the northern kingdom of Israel had failed to follow the Lord since the days of Jeroboam , and that kingdom had already been removed years before by the assyrians. In the days referred to in this portion, the southern kingdom of Judah had now been attacked and conquered by the Babylonians.  Many of the people of Judah had been rounded up and marched away into captivity, and all of the treasure from the Temple had been loaded up and hauled away to distant Babylon by the victorious invader. Can you only imagine the dreadful realities facing the people described in these verses?  At this point,  they had all been collected along the Chebar Canal near the City of Babylon in what may have been a kind of concentration camp.  Ezekiel was among those gathered here along the Chebar, and my guess is that there were a great number of people—they were taken in Nebuchadnezzar’s second visit to Jerusalem; all of them had been stripped of their possessions, their personal dignity, and certainly their freedom.  To add to their misery, their homeland had been conquered, the Temple of God plundered, and they themselves were destined to be slaves in a heathen land.  What an utterly miserable development for the people of God! 

I would guess that for many of the people encamped by Chebar, it must have seemed that God had completely forgotten them.  Yet, as we read the first three verses of Ezekiel 1, we find that even in such an apparently hopeless, helpless circumstance, God was not at all far from His people.  In verses 1-3 we read, “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.  In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.” 

Just think of what we see here!  Even at such a time of shattered dreams and dismal prospects, God knew the suffering of His people, and He revealed Himself to His faithful servant,  right there at the place of suffering. Glorious visions burst forth from Heaven, sent by an ever faithful and loving God,  to encourage the hearts of His people.  The Lord  was very near indeed, even though it may not have seemed so to many who had not the eyes of faith. But, this encouragement from God did not mean that the troubling times were all over for Judah; These visions of wonder were for the comfort of a people who had strayed from God, yet the realization of these blessings would only come at a later time—the people would need to be patient in their current trial, not seeking the deliverance of men, but the faithfulness of God.  The children of God, as should ever be the case, must wait patiently on the Lord for His deliverance.

Sometimes, it is so hard to wait, is it not?  Perhaps you yourself are waiting for deliverance and relief just now, and maybe you have endured a considerable wait already.  Perhaps you have lost income, possessions or even health due to infirmities,  business reverses, or calamities of some other type; perhaps your hopes and dreams for the future appear to have been wrecked like a ship running aground in a violent storm. Those long, lonely hours of prayer and fasting go on and on, yet the heavens are silent, and there is no glorious vision from above to show that the matter will be resolved any time soon.  My dear friend, take courage—your loving Father knows your situation: “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry,” (Psalm 34:15).  Let these lovely words from Jeremiah be the glorious beam from Heaven to brighten your days: “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.  The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD,” (Lamentations 3:22-26).  The proper place for the child of God is to wait patiently on the Lord.  Waiting patiently implies a submissiveness to His will; the submissive heart is not discouraged, even though the wait be ever so long.  In Psalm 130:5,6, we see a beautiful example of the expectant heart of the child of God  who is waiting on the Lord: “I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.  My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.”   

A loving and faithful God revealed Himself centuries ago to His servant Ezekiel along the banks of Chebar in order to comfort His people right where they were, and in the very hour of their suffering; This same faithful and loving God comes to us in our times of need today as well, bringing words of comfort and encouragement. As believers in Christ, we can certainly be sure that the Lord is aware of whatever situation confronts us.  And, God will act, though indeed, sometimes there are lessons of faith that can only be learned through patiently waiting on Him.  Though it may seem that we are quite alone as we endure periods of trial, He comes to His own in time of need! In this world, Christians may experience afflictions which may try our very souls, yet we have the assurance of His presence during such times. The Lord Jesus was very aware of the peril of His disciples on the Sea of Galilee one stormy night, and He came to them in the night watches, in just their hour of need, calming the sea and comforting their souls (Matthew 14:22-33).  Likewise, He immediately knew and understood well the hearts of His sorrowing disciples on the Emmaus road, and He joined them their just when they needed Him, opening their eyes to Himself and encouraging their hearts (Luke 24:13-35). Our Lord Jesus is in the glory today, yet His care for His own is the same even as you read these words.  He is aware of our every trouble and disappointment; He hears and comes to His dear ones just when we need Him, and right where we are, encouraging our hearts through His Word.  If our hearts be submissive to His will, we will not be overwhelmed: “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber.  Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep,” (Psalm 121:3,4). 

My dear friend, are you a child of God?  Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior and Lord?  If you do, then you realize that you are so very special to God, the God of the universe.  We read in Romans 8:16-18: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”  These are comforting words indeed for the child of God; if, on the other hand, you are not yet a child of God, there is good news for you:  this same God who revealed Himself to Ezekiel so long ago, loves you very much, so much that He once sent His Son into the world to die for your sins, that by believing on Him, you might become one of His dear children:” But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name,” (John 1:12).

***

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation,” (Habakkuk 3:17, 18).

On a certain day in late September, my daughter and I were walking together on the bicycle path south of our home.  My heart on that day seemed burdened with many cares, and I felt the need to go to a peaceful place and just think on the Lord.  When considering a major life decision, or when troubled by some unpleasant circumstance, do you ever seek such a place of solitude for prayer and meditation? Consider the lovely expression in Genesis 24:63 relating a time of reflection for Isaac as he anticipated the arrival of Rebecca, his bride, “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide…”.

The evening is such a lovely time of the day, don’t you think? On our bicycle trail walk, the beauty and solitude of the park seemed to encourage a thankful and prayerful spirit in me.  As we coursed our way along a winding trail through the rolling grassland, with the occasional stands of trees on either side of the path, all decorated in the vivid hues of autumn, the glory of God’s creation seemed to fairly cry out to us.  As my daughter described the scene to me, I could picture a world, though in autumnal decline, full of incredible beauty.  The woods around this field were simply on fire with color, and I rejoiced as she described the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows that were all around us, painted against a background of golden grass and a deep blue sky.  And to think, the Lord crowned even the declining season with such splendor!  What a contrast!  It was a time when all the plants of the field were dying back, yet at this very time, the Lord of the universe brought out the most splendid scene of the year!  Though my eyes could no longer perceive this glorious display, my soul thrilled at the very description, and in my mind’s eye, I saw it all.  I immediately forgot my cares, and my very soul cried out in delight to the Lord because of His amazing works! My utter delight found expression in the words of Psalm 103:1,2: “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits…”. 

As we consider the first two verses of Psalm 103, we might find ourselves wondering what happy circumstance in David’s life elicited such praise.  But, in fact, as we read the Psalm, it seems apparent to me that the psalmist was not rejoicing so much about some recent victory or a happy occurrence in his life, though this too could certainly have been a part of his praise.  Rather, I think, David’s soul responded to something much more sublime; I believe the Holy Spirit led David to consider the amazing mercy and goodness of God for His people, and all the wonderful plans that God has for his own.  So, the praise that is called for does not depend at all upon present circumstances.  Israel, even in times of difficulty,  could bless the God whose mercies were as great as the heavens are high above the earth (verse 11); and whatever their situation over the centuries, the faithful of Israel could always rejoice in God’s lovingkindness towards His people, as well as in the ultimate blessings He had in mind for them as a nation.   Regardless of the difficulties or failures of the present, God has wonderful plans for His children!

In verse 2 of this Psalm, we are called upon to “forget not all His benefits.”  Do we remember the benefits of the Lord even during the difficult times?  They are just as real then.  What are some of these benefits?  We read in verses 3-5, “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s”.  My dear Christian friend, just like a father provides good things for his children, God daily blesses His own. 

On any day, we who are believers can remember that God forgives our iniquities and heals our diseases.  How blessed we are to be able to say, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us,” (verse 12).  This is the magnificent truth for all who have trusted in Christ!  And as for our diseases, while many of us may still have sickness or feel the effects of advancing age, we can always be cheered to know that despite our declining health, we have eternal life in Christ.  We also can know that the God of the universe understands our weaknesses and actively helps His own all along our wilderness path: “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust,” (verses 13,14).  Come what may in our lives, we have a great High Priest who can sympathize with us in our infirmities, having walked on this earth as a man, and this same One knows how to help us and sustain us all along our journey through this life.  He shall not suffer thy foot to be moved (Psalm 121:3). 

It may be that at times, we see only the hardness of the way, and we forget for a time all He has done and continues to do for us.  But, these benefits are just as true and real for the child of God during times of decline as during times of growth; just as true during the hard times as they are during the good times. Remember, dear Christian friend, in everything and in every circumstance, God reigns. For me, this is one of the most comforting thoughts in this Psalm.  We read in verse 19, “The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all”.  He reigns in the sunshine as well as in the storm; in times of prosperity as well as in times of loss. If we experience infirmities, business reverses, or even persecution, we can know that the Lord can use those very circumstances to our ultimate benefit: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory,” (1 Peter 1:7,8).  Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Even in our darkest hour, we can look to the cross and see the greatest gift of love the world has ever seen, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16.)  The Lord Jesus Christ, in His finished work on Calvary’s cross, has purchased our pardon through His blood; and we through faith in Him, have forgiveness for our sins, are become the children of God, and have great glory before us.  We who have trusted in Christ for our salvation are most blessed, and this is true whatever the ease or difficulty of our path here below!  “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18—“Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Were you ever far from home and seemingly all alone in the world?  I imagine that’s just the way Jacob must have felt as he left his family home in Genesis chapter 28.  As we open this portion of Scripture, we find Jacob fleeing for his life before the face of his brother Esau.  In chapter 27, Rebecca, Jacob’s mother, had persuaded Jacob to deceive his father Isaac into giving him the blessing of the first-born.  Jacob, following his mother’s direction,  had put on Esau’s clothes, and had placed goat’s hair on the backs of his hands and on his neck so he could deceive Isaac into thinking that it was indeed Esau who was presenting his father savory venison; then, after eating, Isaac had given Jacob the blessing that he had promised to give Esau, the first born.  It all had gone just like clock-work.!  But, when Esau found out what had happened, he was very angry and began to make plans to kill Jacob.  Thus Jacob got the blessing, but he had to flee for his life.  In very short order, Jacob was dispossessed of his comfortable home, and he now became an outcast and a wanderer, seeking refuge with his mother’s relatives in Mesopotamia.  In verses 10 and 11 we read, “And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.  And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.”  Though Jacob had received the blessing he wanted, he was now wandering alone through wilderness places, without resources, homeless, friendless,  and unsure of the future.  As he reached the end of what must have been a most disheartening day, the sun went down, and Jacob was forced to sleep on the bare ground, using the very stones of the place as his pillow. One can only imagine Jacob’s thoughts as he looked up at the starry heavens and waited for sleep. But, the LORD was with Jacob, whether he realized this or not. On this night, Jacob had a most amazing dream provided to him by that One who watched over his soul.  “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.  And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of,” (verses 12-15).

What a glorious dream!  That night on the hard ground must have been easily forgotten after such a magnificent dream! A stairway to heaven, with the very angels of God ascending and descending, and the LORD standing at the top of the ladder speaking encouraging words to His downcast servant must surely have lifted Jacob’s heart!  This man who must have felt miserable and all alone in the world on this night, was suddenly and unexpectedly provided a direct message of promise and encouragement by the God of the universe.  Not only was Jacob promised land, seed and blessing as his father Abraham had been promised, but in verse 15, he was assured of God’s presence, care,  and guidance all along the way.  This outcast child of God seemed surprised to learn that even in his present distress and in this desolate place, God was there: “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven,” (verses 16-17).

My dear friends, Jacob may have lacked the assurance of God’s presence and direction in his life up to this night; but yet he was a child of God, and God graciously reached out and lifted Jacob up when he had seemingly hit rock bottom. You and I who have trusted the Lord Jesus as our Savior are definitely blessed and watched over by this same God of Jacob.  Come what may in our lives, we can be certain of the Lord’s constant presence and care for us.  Remember the precious promises of our Lord Jesus: “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” (Matthew 28:20); “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” (Hebrews 13:5); and, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,” (John 14:1-3).

When Jacob realized the presence and nearness of God, he was deeply moved and sought to remember the place.  In verses 18-19, we read, “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.  And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.”  I understand that the name of that place, “Luz” meant “separation.”  But, nothing can separate the Christian from God’s love: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 8:38,39).  Jacob may have been an outcast from his family, and a wilderness wanderer; but despite issues in his past, and his present distress, he now realized the nearness of God, and God’s grace and constant care.  This place would now be remembered as “Bethel”, the house of God, and I expect Jacob went away from that place refreshed and encouraged.  May we as Christians walk in daily communion with our Lord, praying and reading His Word so that despite even the most difficult circumstances, we may be able to say with certainty, as Jacob of old, “surely the LORD is in this place.” But now, my dear friend, if you do not yet know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, these words may not comfort you.  You will not know the blessing of moment by moment communion with the Lord, and your current circumstances may simply seem frightening and hopeless.  .  If this is your case, then I want to assure you that, despite past failures, there is indeed a God in Heaven who knows you and loves you.  He has sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, in order that you might become a child of God through faith in Him: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name…,” (John 1:10-12).

This account tells of a day, a little over 900 years before Christ, when a great army of a million Ethiopian troops and 300 chariots approached the nation of Judah from the south.  Somewhere near Maresha, a fenced city in the lowlands of Judah, King Asa of Judah moved his much smaller force into position to intercept the invading host.  Asa was the fifth king in the line of David; this king had followed the Lord, and the Lord had blessed Judah during his reign as we read in verses 2-6: “And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.  Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.”

We read in these verses about a time preceding  the day of trial, when there was peace and rest for the children of God.  Peace and rest—what a lovely sound!  Things had been going very well for Judah during the first years of this godly king’s reign.  We see a picture of peace and prosperity on every side, because Asa was a devoted servant of God.  Yet, without much warning and without apparent cause, this challenge from the south suddenly develop, presenting a serious threat to national security, and upsetting the peace in a land where God was being honored. After some years of relative peace, Asa was suddenly faced with a serious threat in the person of Zerah and his mighty army.  We read in verses 9 and 10, “And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.  Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.” Imagine, if you will, what this scene must have looked like as events unfolded.  I expect the first sign of the approaching horde would have been a huge and ominous cloud of dust on the southern horizon; then, the indistinct shape of a vast host filling the distant landscape, with perhaps hundreds of tiny flashes of light catching the eye as the early sun reflected off polished metal weapons. As the approaching masses of marching men began to come into clearer focus, with banners fluttering before the lead columns, the distant rumbling of a million pairs of tramping feet would have grown by degrees as the sprawling juggernaut approached.  Just imagine the sight of countless battalions now filling this arid landscape, marching inexorably forward toward Asa’s position! What a terrifying sight this must have been for the people of God!

My dear Christian friend, have you ever been faced with the growing threat of  desperate circumstances?  Perhaps you have never been on a battle field facing a mighty host like this; maybe you have never been in a land or sea battle at all, but desperate challenges can take many forms in this world.  Perhaps business reverses or tough economic times are threatening your livelihood at this very moment; perhaps floods or other calamities are threatening your home; perhaps growing infirmity is robbing you of your independence, and there is just no sign of relief anywhere before you. Does your heart long for peace and rest?  So often, we hope and pray for smooth sailing through this world, only to find that the Lord has allowed dark and ominous clouds to form on our horizon.  Perhaps, like Asa, we have been following the Lord; and, perhaps we wonder why such storms are allowed to come into the lives of the faithful.

Asa was badly outnumbered, and by all human reasoning, his prospects in the desperate struggle before him were dismal at best.  This godly king, however, realized that he could not look to his own strength for deliverance in this mounting crisis, and this is one of the primary lessons for every child of God in this life.  We must learn to depend fully and in all matters upon the One for Whom nothing is impossible.  Asa committed the entire matter to the Lord  in a short prayer, but one full of faith:  “And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, Thou art our God; let no man prevail against Thee,” (verse 11).

I love this prayer of Asa’s.  He realized, as every child of God must realize, that God is sovereign; He has His purposes in the events that come into the lives of His children, and our battles in this world are not fought by our own power.  Asa, at best, could muster perhaps 600,000 mighty men of valor, and yet he realized that without God, he must surely fail; in depending on the Mighty One of Israel, the battle is never in doubt, regardless of numbers.  We read in Romans 8:31, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”  Asa committed the battle to the Lord, and the result was a resounding victory for Judah, with all glory to God, rather than to men. We read in verse 12 and 13, ”So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before His host; and they carried away very much spoil.”

My dear Christian friend, are you suffering just now from some affliction or even persecution which threatens you like some mighty host which is seeking to overthrow you? Remember, God is sovereign—His plan will unfold perfectly, despite the apparent circumstances.  Take courage—if you are a child of God, you are not alone in this trial.  Perhaps, despite the misery and uncertainty of your present situation, like Jacob of old, you can say, “…Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not,” (Genesis 28:16).  Your loving God and Father is above you, beneath you, and is all around you in His care; He is your refuge, and provider of every need : ”There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.  The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”

It is so amazing to witness how the God of the universe can use even trials and afflictions in the lives of His children in ways that the world simply cannot understand!  It has pleased our Father to use the weak things of this world to accomplish His purposes; and we, His children,  though but earthen vessels, are privileged to be a part of the unfolding of those purposes.  Yet, like the clay pots of Gideon, our vessels may need to be shattered in order that the light of the Gospel may shine forth and a great victory won.  We read in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”

I recently read the account of the Scottish preacher George Matheson, a dear servant of God from the 19^th century, whose heart was broken by the news that he was becoming blind. I would imagine that this news was sobering in the extreme in its implications since it threatened his very future as a minister.  As I understand it, Matheson reflected a while in his sadness, and considered the ever loving God who had allowed this affliction in the life of one who wished only to better serve Him; and this broken vessel, who would later become known as “the blind preacher” penned the following words:

“O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.”
–George Matheson, 1882

As this very interesting story opens, we find the king of Syria going to war against Israel.  In verse 8, the Syrian king was making his war plans, obviously hoping to ambush the army of Israel when it came out of the fortifications of Samaria.  The army of Israel would come forth unaware, then at a certain point, it would suddenly be confronted by the Syrians in battle formation with no time to prepare or even react.  The whole thing would be over in a matter of minutes!  What a beautiful plan the Syrians had, and it should have worked.  The only problem is that the Syrian king did not count on God’s intervention!

God revealed to the prophet Elisha the plan of the Syrians so that each time the plan was attempted, Israel was forewarned and thus able to avoid disaster (verse 9, 10).  After missing several seemingly foolproof opportunities to surprise the army of Israel, the Syrian king began to strongly suspect that he had a traitor in his midst who was leaking his secret plans to Israel (verse 11).  Surprisingly enough, it was one of the Syrian king’s own servants (verse 12) who seemed to have the insight as to what was going on—this was not treason, it was God who had been revealing the king’s plans to His prophet Elisha.  Now, you might think that this would give the Syrian king pause to reflect since God was acting on the side of Israel to reveal the king’s most secret plans to his enemies.  However, this Syrian, instead of bowing to the obvious will of God, decided to respond the way that the people of this world often choose when confronted with the will of God—in verse 13, we find the king of Syria seeking to locate this prophet of God so that he might take him out of the picture and thus have his own way.  In verse 14, after finding out from the servant that Elisha was in the city of Dothan, a town just a few miles north of Samaria, we find the Syrian king issuing orders for a great host with horses and chariots to go to Dothan to find the man of God—not to learn from him, but to capture him!  We read that this great host came by night and compassed the city of Dothan round about—the Syrian was taking no chances, or so he thought!  How arrogant is the heart of sinful man!  Is it any wonder that Satan often finds the people of this world to be such willing, if unaware, accomplices in his plans to oppose God and His people?

It is as the sun rises on Dothan the next morning that we observe the seeming hopelessness of the situation.  The servant of Elisha steps out of the house early in the morning to the terrifying sight of spear tips and shields flashing in the morning sunlight all around the village (verse 15): “And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city, both with horses and chariots.  And his servant said unto him, ‘alas, my master, how shall we do?’”  Can you sense the despair in this young man?  This servant was young, but the gravity of the situation was not lost on him—they were surrounded by men of war, and there appeared to be no way out!  Can you imagine it?  Such a sight was enough to strike terror into this young heart. 

Have you ever experienced such fear?  Maybe you never woke up to find a host of armed men surrounding your town, but perhaps you have encountered situations that seemed to you just as hopeless.  These may have had to do with the illness of a loved one, or reversals in business, or perhaps the development of a life changing disability.  Sometimes, the things we encounter in this world appear to pose an insurmountable threat.  Satan, The enemy of our souls, will try to use such sights and situations to discourage Christians, and if possible, throw us into despair and retreat.  It is at times like these that we need to lay hold of the comforting promises of God.  Do we know a brother or a sister in the Lord who is struggling with such fear and despair?  Might we not give them hope with Godly encouragement such as Heb. 13:5, “…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee;” or 1 John 4:4, “We are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

At this moment in our story, Elisha answers with such words of Godly comfort in verse 16, “Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”  Elisha had gone on with the Lord many years and knew by experience His ways—he was not at all frightened by those things revealed by the eye of flesh, for he knew the power and care of God for His own.  But, the young man did not yet see with the eyes of faith, rather he noted only what he could see before him, and he trembled at the forces arrayed against him.  It was at this point that the man of God looked upon his servant with compassion, desiring to comfort his heart and build up his faith.  Did you notice that?  This is my favorite part of the whole story!  Elisha knew that he and his servant were in God’s hands, and come what may, he was not troubled by what he saw before him.  However, his poor servant trembled with fear, and Elisha was not content to let his servant suffer in this way.  We read next that Elisha followed up and prayed that this man’s eyes might be opened so that he might see the surpassing power of the living God.  Elisha did not pray for himself, but for the faith of his servant!  Oh Christian, would that we should have such concern for one another in the church!  Elisha had compassion on his friend—he could not bear to leave him as he was, but wanted him to know the peace afforded by the knowledge of God’s surpassing power.  So, in verse 17 we read, “and Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see.’  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

What a sight that must have been!  How real and terrible the host of men surrounding the town had seemed a few minutes before with their banners furling in the morning breeze, and their swords and lances poised and ready.  But now, how insignificant was this show of the rage of mere man against the awesome power of God which was arrayed to defend His own!  Elisha prayed that God might reveal to this doubting and trembling servant the surpassing power that was already present to protect from all ill.  Seeing this heavenly array, who could fear?  But the servant had not been able to see it, because the eyes of his faith must be opened.  How caring an act that this man of God should pray for his young servant; and because he prayed for his servant on this day, this young man was permitted to see the glory of the Lord as He delivered Israel.  It was a sight that I expect the servant never forgot! 

How Christ-like was this loving concern of Elisha for his trembling servant.  Recall that when the Lord Jesus walked in this earth, He tenderly cared for His disciples and comforted them in their fears.  In those closing days of His earthly walk, He spoke words of comfort and peace, and instructed them regarding things that were about to happen, so that when He was risen from the dead, they would remember and believe.  He was often in prayer for His disciples (see Luke 6:12).  Is He not the same today, though ascended and sitting on the right hand of the Father?  Does He not still come to His own in our time of need, meeting us where we are and comforting us with His word?   Just as when He prayed for Peter that his faith fail not, does He not continue to intercede for us?  He is the same Lord—“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever,” (Heb. 13:8).  What wonderful truths we have to stand on!

We read in the final verses of this story that as they angels came down to Elisha, that he prayed, and the great enemy host was struck with blindness.  What had been so fearsome an opposition, was soon reduced to a stumbling mass which was easily lead to capture in Samaria.  What a lopsided victory for God and His own!

Oh Christian, do you see the angels in the mountains?  “If God be for us, who can be against us,” (Rom. 8:31).   As Christians walking through this wilderness world, we are beset with trials and fearsome sights on every side, set there by the enemy of our souls in an attempt to frighten and confuse us.  Let us be ever in God’s word and in prayer, abiding in Christ, that we may have on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to withstand such attacks (Ephesians 6:10-18).  Let us see with the eyes of faith, and not rely on our eyes of flesh, for we have the promises of God to rely on.  We who are His own need never despair, but let us remind one another of the surpassing power of God toward His own and thereby lift up those who may be struggling.   Let us be constantly in prayer to strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ that they too might see the angels in the mountains!

Have you ever been on a stormy sea in a small vessel?  If you have, then you probably know how terrifying the fury of wind and wave can be.  It was just this type of fury that the disciples of the Lord Jesus experienced in this account in Luke chapter 8.  In verse 22 we read, “Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He (the Lord Jesus) went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.”  The Lord Jesus was with His disciples near the shore of the Sea of Galilee on this day, and He desired to go over to the land of the Gadarenes on the eastern shore.  He and His disciples entered a ship, and He bid them set sail.  This may have been a trip that they were used to making, but on this day, they were to encounter a great storm at sea.  It is my understanding that the Sea of Galilee is known for sudden, violent storms, so those who sailed it had to expect these kinds of events from time to time.  At least four of the disciples were experienced fishermen who had made their living on the sea; however, even for those who were very experienced, a violent storm at sea is a thing not to be taken lightly—storms on the water are always dangerous, and they can be terrifying in the extreme, especially when sailing in a small ship.  We read in verse 23, “But as they sailed He fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.”

The Lord Jesus had gone to sleep during the course of this voyage, and while He slept, the winds rose and the waves began to throw the ship about.  When their ship began to take on water, the disciples realized that they were in serious trouble, and their seamanship was clearly no match for the forces that threatened to sink their vessel.  Realizing their peril and in full panic, they woke the Lord Jesus whom they assumed was not in touch at all with the desperate nature of their situation, and they cried out in despair about their circumstances.

In verses 24 and 25 we read, “And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.  And He said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for He commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey Him.” These same disciples had walked with the Lord Jesus and had seen Him do many mighty works; yet it appears that with the winds raging and the high seas tossing them about, their eyes were focused on the storm only, and they forgot who they had in the ship with them.  I wonder if we Christians sometimes focus only on the storms of our lives and forget who it is that calms the raging seas?  In their midst, the disciples had One who did mighty works in the power of God, yet it appears that it never occurred to them that the Lord Jesus was able to bring even this seemingly desperate situation under control. 

We read that Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea, and the immediate result was a calm, placid sea.  That was a miracle!  The disciples had seen other miracles at the hand of Jesus, so perhaps they should have realized just who it was that sailed with them.  But apparently they did not expect this miracle; we see that they were frightened and astonished that even the wind and sea obeyed His voice.  When we are in desperate straits and call upon the Lord, are we surprised when He is able to deliver us?

My dear Christian friend, do you realize who it is that walks with you through this stormy world?  It may be that you have never experienced a storm at sea, but my guess is that many who read this paper have encountered storms in other aspects of your lives.  Maybe you are experiencing a personal storm in your life at this very moment.  Perhaps you have lost a job or a home, or have failed in a business venture; perhaps you have been diagnosed with a serious illness that will prevent you from pursuing your career dreams or even taking care of your own personal needs; perhaps you are unable to do some work for the Lord that you want with all your heart to do; or, perhaps you have been upset at the economic and political unrest in our world just now.  Take heart, my dear Christian friend!  You have the same sure resource that the disciples had on that stormy day on the sea so long ago.  The same Lord Jesus who calmed the sea for His disciples in Luke 8 can calm each of the storms of our lives as well.  He is risen and glorified, and is seated on the right hand of the Father now, but He knows very well your present distress.  His ear is inclined toward His children, and he hears our cries just as He heard those of His disciples on that stormy day at sea.  In Psalm 34:15 we read, “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry.”  This same Lord Jesus once walked in this scene, and He well knows our every need: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:15, 16).  When the storms of life rage, we can put our trust in the One who calmed the seas—He is only a prayer away!

“And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me,” (Psalm 50:15).

My times are in Thy hand; Father, I wish them there;
My life, my soul, my all, I leave entirely to Thy care. (Grace and Truth, #144).

During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus spent a great deal of time in and around the city of Capernaum on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee. It was in this region that many of His mighty works were done. To the southwest of Capernaum was the village of Nain. Now, the Lord Jesus visited this village on a certain day according to this account in Luke 7; and as He entered the village, He encountered a funeral procession for a young man who had recently died. We read in verses 11 and 12, “And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
Now when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.” You can just imagine the sadness of this scene! The death of a loved one is always a very sad event, but somehow I think this particular situation was especially tragic. This young man was the only son of his mother, who herself was a widow; this widow had therefore lost about everything in her world—first her husband, and now her only son. Besides this terrible loss, her very means of support was much in question given that now all the men in her family were gone. Perhaps the magnitude of this tragedy could be measured in some degree by the large number of people who accompanied her and mourned with her in this procession. It must have been a very sad day indeed for this mother, and one full of tears and uncertainty.

My dear friend, perhaps you have experienced the extreme grief and sense of loss associated with the death of a loved one. We have often heard the saying, “where there’s life, there’s hope,” but when one has died, we are powerless to help. Man has no power over death, and that fact remains true even today despite all man’s progress in science and medicine. Today, we can treat many types of life threatening conditions and extend life in certain cases. But we cannot prolong life indefinitely, and when one has died, we have no medical remedy for that. Now, death is the consequence of sin; and because all men have sinned, we are all faced with death. It was to deal with sin once and for all and to free man from the power of death that the Lord Jesus came into this world. God knew our desperate plight, lost, ruined sinners that we were, and He sent His Son. At Calvary, the Lord Jesus conquered sin which leads to death, so that we who are dead in our sins might have life through faith in him. “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11: 25, 26).

I do not believe that the widow of Nain or anyone in the crowd expected what was about to happen; yet this woman’s sorrow was about to be turned to very great joy—she and the entire crowd were about to meet the God of resurrection! We read in verse 13, “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.” I love to read those words: ”He had compassion on her.” God cares, and He does see and hear when His own are in distress. We read in Psalm 34:15, “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.” But sometimes I think that in the midst of deep sorrow, extreme disappointment, or desperate trials, it can seem that we are all alone in our suffering. In times of great stress, we may tend not to remember that God loves us and that He cares about our situation. Have you ever heard someone say, “where is God in this thing?,” or “Doesn’t God care?” Dear friends, we need to remember that it was the love of God which caused him to send His only begotten Son into the world to rescue us from our hopeless situation: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16).
In #135of the Little Flock Hymn Book, we sing,
“We joy in our God, and we sing of that love, So sovereign and free which did His heart move! When lost our condition, all ruined, undone. He saw with compassion, and spared not His Son!”

In verses 14 and 15 of our chapter, we find the Lord Jesus acting to comfort and restore: “And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.” Can you imagine the astonishment and joy of this mother as the Lord Jesus accomplished what no other man could do? This young man was dead, and up to the point where Jesus spoke to him, he could not hear the voices of those around him as the mourners wept and lamented; he could not hear the braying of a donkey, nor the clap of a cartwheel on the stony path. But he heard the voice of the Lord Jesus, and at the sound of His voice, the life of this man was restored, and he could return to his family! This reminds me of the words of the Lord Jesus in John 5:25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” If you have placed your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, then you too will one day hear His voice and will be raised to life.

Raising someone from the dead is a great miracle, and one that did not go unnoticed by the crowd at Nain. We read in verse 16, “And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.” Can you imagine the astonishment of the crowd when they realized what the Lord Jesus had done? A man who was known by all to be dead and ready for the grave, suddenly sat up and began to speak when the Lord commanded him to arise. But who can raise the dead? Fear fell upon the crowd as they witnessed the power of God intervening in their lives in a very tangible way. I don’t know what the crowd actually understood regarding Jesus, whether they saw Him as just a great prophet, or the Son of God; but clearly they saw the mighty power of God touching them right where they lived, and they glorified God.

If you are a Christian, I’m sure you’ll agree that it is comforting to realize that the Lord Jesus, the very Son of God, saw with compassion the tears of a poor widow woman from an insignificant village in Galilee, and He acted to give relief and hope where previously there had been none. Remember, this is The same Lord Jesus who is now seated at the right hand of His Father in glory! Though it is true that he is no longer walking in this earthly scene, He yet loves His own. He knows our troubles and seeks to comfort His own. If you are a child of God, then whatever tragedies you may encounter as you walk through this world, you have the sure knowledge that the Lord Jesus knows and is ready to comfort and encourage, and to minister to you in your time of need. He is only a prayer away!

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:15,16).