Ever-present help

Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV) God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

There have been a few times in my life where I have felt my earth give way, and my troubles seem like a mountain the size of, well, a mountain. Looking up at the mountain can be scary. Looking at the ground crumbling beneath me can be terrifying. During the low points of my life, I have two options; be stuck in my fear, or reach out to God. I remember this verse, where it says God is our ever-present help in trouble. That is sweet peace in the chaos. Ever-present. Always there. More than just there though, He is our help. He is active in our lives, not just a bystander. He is our refuge in the craziness of life, He is our haven. I know for a fact, as I am sure all of you do, this world is a dark and scary place. People are out to cut you down, demands of life are always pulling you in different ways. It's nice to have a safe haven to run to, a refuge in the midst of it all. David goes on to say God is our strength as well. I will be the first to admit I am weak. Not in the lifting weight sense, but the weak without God sense. I cannot do it alone. With Him, I can do all things, without Him, I am a wreck. A big one. I am glad that He is my strength to make it through. 

Whatever you are facing in your life right now, I know that God can help you. I have been in some deep valleys and thought, "I'm a hopeless wreck! There is no way God will help me out of this one." Every time I needed Him though, He was there. He was my help. And He can be your help too. I am not someone of great fame or fortune, God doesn't care about those things anyway, but if He will help me, He will help you as well. He is not a respecter of persons, we are all His children. So be encouraged today, that no matter what it is you are facing, He is our ever-present help. We don't have to fear. Fear is a tool of the enemy, to get your eyes off of Christ. I have found the best way to stave off the fear is to praise your way through it. The enemy hates it when we praise God, it confuses him. 

Psalm 116:1-7 (GNT) I love the Lord, because he hears me;
    he listens to my prayers. He listens to me
    every time I call to him. The danger of death was all around me;
    the horrors of the grave closed in on me;
    I was filled with fear and anxiety. Then I called to the Lord,
    “I beg you, Lord, save me!” The Lord is merciful and good;
    our God is compassionate. The Lord protects the helpless;
    when I was in danger, he saved me.  Be confident, my heart,    because the Lord has been good to me.

"He listens to me every time I call to Him", "When I was in danger, He saved me". There are some powerful words in these verses. When we call out to God for help, He is there. We can be confident, because of the faithfulness of God. We know He will never fail us, or forget us. He sees what we go through, and He cares. He is good!

This is my prayer for whoever reads this, wherever you are. Whatever you are facing, I pray that God will be your ever-present help in trouble and you can see the goodness of Him in your life. Everyone is facing some kind of battle, but God is big enough to take care of us all. So rest in Him, knowing He cares for you!

Committed, kind've.

I like to think I am pretty committed to Christ. I read the Bible from time to time throughout the day, I pray when I get a free moment, and I watch Joyce Meyer on Daystar T.V. That should sum me up as committed, right? Not hardly. If I am just going through the motions, checking off my list of things I should do to feel like I am dedicated, then I'm not really getting it. I'm missing what Jesus was talking about in Mark 12:30 when He said, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Just reading, just praying and just attending church is just scratching the service.  Praying to relieve the guilt of not praying isn't beneficial to anyone, and almost a mockery to God. I am preaching to myself here too, as I have found myself a time or two just praying to say that I've prayed. How shameful I felt when I realized what I was doing! I was sending a message to God that I was too busy, too tired, too uninterested to really get into His presence, or hear His voice at that time. Wow! Needless to say, I did some major apologizing! How would it feel if God told us He was 'just too busy today' to really listen, but go ahead and pray anyway? Not so good. 

There is a name for "just" doing these things; religion. Rituals. There is no depth to them, and therefore they are like roots of a plant sowed on shallow ground. They spring up fast, but soon are scorched and wither. Ever feel withered? Me too. I would be excited, determined to pray and read my Bible 'this' many times a day and for 'this' amount of time...fast forward a few weeks, and I found myself complacent again.

I was a complacent Christian, if there is such a thing. Stagnant is more like it, just like water in a pond with no movement...I was heading nowhere in a hurry. My attitude, just like the pond, stunk. I was held in a prison of my own choosing, disgusted and yet unwilling to move. Ever been there? It's not a fun place to be. Sometimes we don't even realize we're there until we're bogged down knee deep in our own mess we've made. God cannot use a lukewarm Christian for the simple fact we're unwilling to be used. Unwilling to follow His command and love Him with everything we have. 

Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Although they knew God... How many people would say they 'know' God? Knowing about God is not the same as being committed to Him, not the same as knowing who He is. Nobody is committed to someone or something they know nothing about. To be committed to Christ, we must first know WHO He is. To get to know Him, we got to step out of the lukewarm comfort zone we've made. Stagnate water is deadly water, nothing profits from it. 

 What exactly is committed? The dictionary describes it as; "to pledge (oneself); to entrust, especially for safekeeping". To commit our ways to Him means to trust Him with our lives, to pledge ourselves to Him. All or nothing! Not just give Him our best on Sunday and our leftovers Monday-Saturday, but to give Him our everything! 

 James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

There is a wonderful reassurance in this passage. James tells us if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us! It doesn't matter what we've made it before, God is faithful, and merciful! If we seek to know Him, He will make Himself known to us. If we need to be washed clean, He forgives. If we need to rearrange our priorities, and make more time for Him, He encourages us. He is committed to us, and is there for us whenever we need Him. We should be committed to Him as well. 

Make today the day we start doing things the right way. No more mediocre relationship with Christ. We are never guaranteed tomorrow, today is but for a moment, let's make it the day we turn a new leaf! 

 Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Let follow David's cry here, and ask God to know our hearts and minds, and to lead us.

-Megan