DAILY DEVOTIONAL FROM PASTOR WESLEY March 4, 2021

God’s Encouraging Presence

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, where is your God?" These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore, I remember You from the land of the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me. The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God my rock, why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they say to me all day long, where is your God?" Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 42

When we are in despair, it’s difficult to sense the Lord’s presence with us. The circumstances seem to overwhelm what we know to be true—that His Holy Spirit abides in us forever. We long for an awareness that He cares, but in our distress, it is easy to forget the ways He makes Himself known to us:

The Scriptures. The first place we should go to find the Lord is His Word. His instructions lead us through dark valleys, His promises give hope, and His attributes provide comfort and assurance in the face of uncertainty.
God’s Providential Care. The Lord is sovereign over all events and uses them to achieve His purposes for the world and for each believer’s life. As circumstances unfold, look for God’s hand at work.
The Spirit’s Guidance. The indwelling Holy Spirit manifests Himself by bringing to mind scriptures that offer encouragement or direction. He is also our Comforter, who comes alongside during trials and helps us to endure.

Remember that God is near when you’re brokenhearted or crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). Call out to Him saying, “Lord, I need you.”

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