Thursday, April 11, 2024
The Winning Side
The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. (Psalm 34:19 NLT)
From the moment we come into this life, there are all kinds of troubles. Life is filled with challenges, and it seems as though when you have one problem finally resolved, three more take its place.
In fact, the Bible says, “People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire” (Job 5:7 NLT).
Some people may say that if you accept Jesus Christ, then all your troubles will go away. The implication is that if you become a Christian, then your problems will be gone. On one hand that’s true, because when you become a true follower of Jesus, many troubles do go away. The issues of an ever-present guilt, an emptiness in your life, and the fear of what happens beyond the grave are resolved.
But in all fairness, other troubles start once you give your life to the Lord. The moment you decide to follow Jesus Christ and seek to do the right thing, the devil will do everything that He can to stop you.
But you also need to know that God is far more powerful than the devil. And God will do everything He can to strengthen you. You are on the winning side.
That doesn’t mean you aren’t going to be tempted. It doesn’t mean you aren’t going to face hardships or that you won’t have obstacles in your life. But it does mean that you will ultimately get through these things with the help and power of God.
When the disciples were afraid, Jesus gave them some words of assurance to bring calm to their anxious hearts. He said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me” (John 14:1 NLT). We could also translate this to say, “Don’t be agitated or disturbed or thrown into confusion.”
Jesus didn’t tell the disciples to mull over their problems. Instead, He told them not to be troubled. He was saying there are reasons to be troubled in life, but there is a greater reason not to be.
Yes, we have all kinds of troubles in our lives: health troubles, family troubles, relationship troubles, and financial troubles. Things don’t go the way that we hoped they would go.
And there are times in our lives when things happen that we just don’t understand. Why did God do a certain thing? Or why did God not do a certain thing?
When I don’t understand something about God, I try to always fall back on what I do understand. I understand that God loves me and that He’s looking out for me with my best interests in mind. I do understand that no matter what happens, He will get me through it.
Nothing is too hard for the Lord. There is no addiction so strong that He cannot free someone from it. And there is no problem so complex that He cannot unravel it. There is no hope without God. But with Him, you have all the hope that you ever will need.
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In this fantastic 90-day devotional, author and pastor Levi Lusko uses illuminating stories, biblical teaching, and eye-opening surprises about outer space to show kids that they’re never alone because God is always with them. A copy of this beautifully illustrated book will be mailed to you when you make a gift of support to Harvest Ministries this month.
