As I was reading my Bible this morning & praying, I felt impressed to share some things. The first thing is about trials. Everyone goes through them at some point in our lives. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes our prayers help us to avoid them & sometimes they do not. It's the attitude we have when we go through them that is important. Things tend to turn out badly if we are filled with anger & bitterness, or complain & blame God. But if we go through our trials with thankfulness & praise to God, he will bring good out of them. The Bible says, "to count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience" James 1:2-3. Let God lead you through whatever trial you may be going through today.
"You have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, & glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:6-7
"Cast your burden on the Lord, & He shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22
"As for me, I will call upon God, & the Lord shall save me. Evening & morning & at noon I will pray, & cry aloud, & He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me." Psalm 55:16-18
"You, who have shown me great & severe troubles, shall revive me again, & bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, & comfort me on every side." Psalm 71:20-21
The second thing comes from Psalm 23. I have read this psalm many, many times so far in my life...it's my favorite...but I never really thought about this before when I read it. Verse 2& 3 say this: "He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name." NLT
The footnote from my Life Application Study Bible, NLT, says this:
"When we allow God, our shepherd, to guide us, we have contentment. When we choose to sin & go our own way, however, we cannot blame God for the environment we create for ourselves. Our shepherd knows the "green meadows" & "peaceful streams" that will restore us. We will reach these places only by following him obediently. Rebelling against the shepherd's leading is actually rebelling against our own best interests. We must remember this the next time we are tempted to go our own way rather than the shepherd's way."
We can say that we are following God but if we are not living out the characteristics of God which are love, truth, humility, peace, & wisdom, we're just "trash talking" to cover up our real motives & selfishness. Let God, the "Good Shepherd" lead you today.
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