He Comforts Us in All Our Troubles

"The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,"  - Nahum 1:7

Given the current state of our world today with the pandemic crisis, many of us are feeling as if we've had the floor literally knocked out from under our feet. We are living in scary, unsettling times, not knowing if and when normalcy will return.

I hope this encouraging verse from Scripture will help ease and assure anxious and troubled minds; that daylight always follows the darkest night. The strongest and oldest trees in the forest became so by weathering many storms. Our faith in God grows stronger with every trial in life.

The verse above is both experience and prophecy. The prophet and people have experienced an extended blessing by the goodness of the Lord. The nation Israel's history is completely tied into the story of His purpose and care.

And although the current moral state of the people is such that God's love must employ brutal disciplinary methods, He hasn't changed. His mercy is still secure over all His works, and His character the solid foundation upon which His people may always build.

However, the fact that they are unremorseful and unresponsive to those hints of His Will, that have already presented themselves in tragedy and suffering, have cemented their painful punishment. Darker days loom on the horizon for them.

They will find themselves embroiled in a conflict of nations in which it will appear that their national life is utterly destroyed. Nothing that they have previously experienced will compare to the misery that will arrive upon them.

Yet, through it all the goodness of God will not diminish. The future will repeat the past to those who sincerely seek Him. In such a way does the prophet encourage the faithful few in the land by guiding their thoughts to the source of their life.

Thus, we must always bear in mind that believers are never immune from trouble, but they are free from fear and despair. And that no matter what, God remains constant and the shelter of His love is always available to them.

Whenever faith is tested, and life is obscured by difficulties and uncertainties, as it is now, we can always find His strength and light for the support of our confidence. It would be unwise to pass through these troubled times without God's help.

Scripture: Philippians 4:13; Isaiah 41:10; 1 John 5:4; 1 Peter 5:7; James 1:12

Prayer: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. Amen.  - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Joyfully in Christ!

~Eve