TRUST IN THE LORDSpeaker: Sis. Stella Dhinakaran Gist: Since you have Jesus Christ as your Saviour you are a blessed person. This world stands in need of consolation and comfort. God is going to comfort and console others through you. Today let us meditate about putting our complete trust upon the Lord. Psalms 7:1 says, "O Lord my God, in You I put my trust." It is this hope that we also should have. The verses as found in Psalms 11:1, 36:1, 55:23 and 143:8 also convey the same message.
What happens to the man or woman who puts his or her complete trust in the Lord? If you read Nahum 1:7, "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him." The Lord does not look at your appearance but He looks at your heart.
What are the blessings the Lord will shower upon His children? The Psalmist says, "Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him". The Bible says in Romans 4:17 that our God is One who calls those things which do not exist as though they did. Today you may say there is no blessing at all in my family. But God is standing very close to you waiting to bless you this day. It may be the need for a gift of a child, a life partner or a job. Whatever your needs are the Lord wants to bless you. Believe it in your heart and confess it with your mouth saying, "Lord I believe, thank you for blessing me."
Ruth and Naomi were members of a broken family. If you read Ruth 1:20,21 it says "But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. "I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?" Yes, Naomi's heart was broken to pieces because she was a widow.
Normally a woman feels that there is no blessing if her husband is no more. That was the state of Naomi. Not only that, she also lost her two sons. Imagine the heart of that woman. I do cry thinking of my daughter even though many years have passed by. But the Lord has blessed me now with another daughter. The grief of Naomi would have been even greater for she had lost two sons at a very prime age. She was a woman of contrite spirit. It is here we see that the children of God should have hope in the Lord.
If you read Colossians 1:27, "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Even after losing my daughter I am able to boldly preach the word of God because Christ dwells in me as the hope of glory. My loving Saviour Jesus Christ is with me what else do I need? Since you have Jesus Christ as your Saviour you are a blessed person. This world stands in need of consolation and comfort. God has chosen you to be like Naomi. God is going to comfort and console others through you.
As a family would you like to be a source of blessing to the people surrounding you? Don't be crying like Naomi, saying my heart is filled with bitterness. Perhaps being in the flesh one may tend to say so but always remember your hope is in the Lord. You must consider the Lord Jesus Christ as your friend. He will surely abide with you.
If you read Psalm 147:3, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." The secret for success is that you must have the Lord by your side. You may be wondering how to solve a particular problem in your place of work or be worried thinking about those who rise up against you and hate you for reasons unknown. But if the presence of the Lord is with you then His joy will fill your heart.
The Lord will heal your wound first and use you as an instrument to bring blessings to others. That's precisely what happened in the life of Naomi. She cried unto the Lord and the Lord blessed her home. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, a Moabite woman was also a widow. She watched the life of her mother-in-law. Have you ever seen a mother-in-law being a model to her daughter-in-law? If you have Jesus Christ with you, you also can be a model to your daughter-in-law. If you have Christ the hope of glory in your heart, He will enable you to be a model in your family. You can change the hard-hearted nature of your husband by showing your love and affection to him by having a close walk with God. Thereby, you can receive blessings from God amidst all problems, oppositions and satanic forces.
Ruth who watched and admired the life of her mother-in-law pleaded her not to send her away to her people. "Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God." She committed herself to the Lord and trusted completely on Him alone. What a wonderful life we see in the character of Ruth. Both she and her mother-in-law clung to the Lord.
The Bible says in Psalm 45:10,11, "Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; Forget your own people also, and your father's house; so the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him." Have you placed the Lord first in your personal as well as family life? If you do so, then you can draw the other members of your family into His divine fold.
What happens when you commit yourself and your family into the hands of our Lord? The Scripture says in Psalm 32:8, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." This is the promise given by the Lord wherein He says that He Himself would take care of your family life.
Prayer
Loving Lord,
I praise You because You have promised to instruct and teach me the way I should go. I also thank You because You have assured to guide me with Your eye. Help me to trust in Jesus Christ the hope of glory so that I may be a model to my family members. Keep me as a source of comfort and consolation to others. Grant me the grace to cling to You always and have a close walk with you.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen |