Day 15 - Verse 14

The LORD upholds all that fall, and raises up all those that be bowed down. Verse 14

To those who are in Christ as members of His kingdom, and blessed with all the privileges and
blessings of that kingdom, this verse holds tremendous promise, comfort and hope.

For, who among us can say that since we came to Christ life has been smooth sailing with a prominent absence of strife, challenges, burdens and grief?    What planet are we living on?  It ain’t a perfect world!

I say that often in our home as our 3 sons, all on the brink of manhood, are finding that life is sometimes hard, it isn’t always fair, and under our roof, their personal agendas may be usurped by those in authority over them…. mom and dad.

Likewise, though, they have assurance that mom and dad will be there to guide and support them through hardships, brainstorm solutions, be their supply, and sometimes even help them clean up their messes.

It is a great comfort to know that the LORD is a loving parent to each of us.  Fallen is the state in which we all arrived on this planet.  Justified is the state into which we are born again through the redemption Christ purchased for us with His own blood.   Sanctified is the state of our being as we journey through life, growing in faith, listening to the instruction of the Holy Spirit, and finding strength in Christ to overcome everything life can dish out at us.
 
Why?  It is a fact that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  It is a promise of God that we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us.  It is the truth that if God is for us, who can be against?  Paul wrote all these things to the Romans before he ever visited them.  
Of course he had been stoned, jailed, shipwrecked and whipped during his years of ministry.   He knew firsthand the cost of following Christ, and daring to be different in a culture full of idolatry and a narcissistic emperor.  Add to that, the Jewish leadership that wanted to remove the threat to their authority.

 It is clear that men, women and children were martyred for their faith in Christ.  Yet, they willingly declared their allegiance to their Savior, their Creator, and blessed the Lord even while becoming human torches at the hands of Rome. 
How can this be?   Is it possible to go through a fiery trial, like cancer, stroke, bankruptcy, betrayal or imprisonment with joy in the Lord?

It was always a stumbling block to me when in his second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote,
“This light temporary nature of our suffering is producing for us glory without limits for eternity, greater than we can imagine.”  2 Cor 4:17  
Then in Romans 8:18, Paul wrote to encourage the church, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”  What a hard pill to swallow!

Yet, I can now attest to the fact that it takes a bit of hard-knock life experience to discover that faith can grow to into  a place that shares Paul’s attitude.   Going through the unexpected harsher realities of life will either crush you, or cause you to rise up and trust in the God who has promised to uphold you and lift you up and give you victory.

SO for today, I encourage you with these words:
The promise of Christ is that He will supply you the strength you need so that you will not be crushed by the burdens of life.  Though you may feel bowed down, stooped over under the weight of pressures and conflicts, and demands which seem set on your destruction, do not fear.  Take heart.

The promises of God are everlasting.  This world is not our home.  Yet, while we abide in it we remember that He has called us to “cast our anxieties upon Him, for He cares for us.” 1 Peter 5:7

Even Paul had a “thorn in his flesh”,  some kind of affliction that was a great bother and concern to him.  He pleaded with the Lord to remove it from him, to which the Lord replied,
 “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is strongest when you are weak.”    2 Corinthians 12:9 

Resting in the confidence that He has us covered in every circumstance is the place where we find peace.   That’s a promise I cling to.

Jesus, Your Name is Power, Your Name is Peace, Your Name is the Name above all others, Jesus Your Name is Life.   Amen.