The Lord of Hosts is With Us

We Will not Fear

Psalms 46:1-3 ESV

 

“God is our refuge and strength,

    a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah”

 

We all have trials. Some are little, some are huge, and some are in between little and huge. They come to us in all kinds of shapes and forms, too. Some are expected. Others are surprises. But anticipated or not, and no matter the shape, form, or size of the trial, a trial is still a trial.

 

These trials do not catch God by surprise, though. For us who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, they aren’t for naught, either. They serve a purpose, which is to mature us in our walks of faith, to prune us, to discipline us, and to shape us into the people God wants us to be.

 

So, we can choose to let these trials take us out, or we can choose to let the Lord conform us to his likeness through our trials. And based on my own personal experience, I highly recommend that you surrender to the Lord in your trials and that you let him work his will in your lives.

 

For, God is indeed our refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble. He can give us his peace, which is beyond human comprehension, and he can fill us to overflowing with his strength and endurance, way beyond what we have within ourselves.

 

But the peace truly comes when we genuinely comprehend that our God is God. He is all powerful, all knowing, and ever present. He made us, so he knows us, and he had our lives planned out for us even before the creation of the world, so he is in control of our circumstances, too.

 

So, no matter what happens, or how bad things get, or who does what to us, or how much we are betrayed or falsely accused or mistreated or misunderstood, or how bleak our circumstance may appear to us, God is still on the throne. He is still fully sovereign. We just have to rest in him.

 

God Will Help Her

Psalms 46:4-7 ESV

 

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

    the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

    God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

    he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”

 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we died with Christ to sin, and we were resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, and we were indwelt by God in the person of the Holy Spirit. So, God now lives within us. He is not just among us, but he lives inside of each one of us.

 

So, when we trust the Lord with our lives, and we surrender all to him, and we walk in his ways and in his truth, we will not be moved by the difficulties in our lives. This is not to say we won’t be moved emotionally by them, or that they won’t hurt us in some way, but that we will remain steady in faith.

 

And this is because God the Father is our refuge and strength. Jesus is our Lord, and he is our Good Shepherd. And the Holy Spirit is our comforter and counselor. God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – help us through every situation we encounter in this life. They give us all we need to keep the faith.

 

Collectively, believers in Jesus Christ form the church, the body of Christ. The church is not a physical building called “church.” It is not a human institution or a business or a denomination or a corporation of the state. It is the collective body of Christ, so it is the people who believe in Jesus.

 

So, no matter how fierce our enemy attacks us, or do his armies and his hordes who follow him, God is still God. They can’t do anything but what God allows it, and he limits what they can do, too. So, for what God allows, or what he causes to happen, he will also provide for us to endure.

 

Be Still and Know

Psalms 46:8-11 ESV

 

“Come, behold the works of the Lord,

    how he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

    he burns the chariots with fire.

‘Be still, and know that I am God.

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth!’

The Lord of hosts is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”

 

I think sometimes we look at our circumstances and we get overwhelmed by them because we are looking at the circumstances instead of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. So, we need to be reminded of who God is and of all that he has done all throughout the generations of humankind.

 

We should also look at our own lives and look at all that he has done for us, and we can see how much he is involved in our lives in working in so many different ways. I watch continually at how much he coordinates so many things in my life in ways only God could do.

 

So, when we take a good hard look at who God is, who Jesus is, and all that he has done for us, we should stand in awe of God, and it should cause us to be still before him. Sometimes when I do this, it brings tears to my eyes, and it humbles me before him that he would care so much about me.

 

But when we are up against these trials and tribulations which try to take us out, this is what we need to do. We need to be still and know that God is God, and we need to stand in awe of Him and realize how very much he is in control and how fully sovereign he is over all that he has made.

 

And we are to exalt him. We are to give him our honor, obedience, respect, and praise. We are to give him all the glory, too, for everything he does in our lives and through our lives for his praise and glory. And we must then trust him to rescue us and to help us in our times of trouble, and to not fear.

 

Jesus, Rescue Me  

 

An Original Work / September 18, 2011

Based off of Romans 7:7-8:39

 

Jesus, rescue me today.

Listen while I bow and pray.

I need Your help to obey You;

Live for You always.

Meet me in my hour of need, Lord,

As I pray to You.

Help me walk in fellowship, Lord,

Living in Your truth.

Jesus, how I long for You to

Change my heart anew.

 

Father, God, my heart’s desire

Is to live for You this hour

In Your Holy Spirit’s power

Living in me now.

Teach me to walk in Your love, Lord,

Guiding me each day.

Help me to show love and kindness

To the lost, I pray.

Father, teach me to love others

As You love always.

 

Holy Spirit come in pow’r.

Revive our hearts in this hour.

Change our hearts to be like You, Lord;

Live for You each day.

Help us to forsake our sins, Lord,

As we humbly pray.

Teach us how to live for You, Lord,

Obey You always.

Holy Spirit come in power,

Revive us today.

 

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