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Real Help Comes From God

November 12, 2012

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. Psalm 42:5

The psalmist works through the struggles of his heart by asking the right questions and then concluding the answer—Hope in God.

GOD HAS A HOPEFUL PROPOSITION FOR EVERY SITUATION. O my God, my soul is in despair within me; therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar (Psalm 42:6). Like the psalmist remembered God’s faithfulness, we can look back and remember how God rescued people from desperate situations. Jonah was about to be digested in the belly of a fish but got put back on track. Daniel survived a long night with hungry lions without one scratch or bite. The people of Israel got attacked by Pharaoh’s army right in the middle of their miracle as they were walking across the parted Red Sea. But God used the moment to bury the enemy for good, never to be seen again.

FAITH BRINGS EVERYTHING TO GOD IN PRAYER WITH THE EXPECTATION OF RESULTS. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval (Hebrews 11:1-2). The malady of despair is epidemic right now. That’s why we need to get really serious about articulating the good news. We identify what the concrete substance of the Word of God says and we take our stand on those promises.

FILL YOUR HEART WITH GOD’S WORD. Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105). There are answers corresponding to every challenge you face, and they are found in the Word of God. Find scriptures that pertain to your situation, write them down, and meditate on them. Then, take your stand and use the Word of God like a two-edged sword to cut through each despair-producing issue in your life. Faithful is God who calls you, and He will bring His plan to pass (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Press on,
Pastor Jeff

Real help comes from God. Your blessing clothes your people! Psalm 3:8 The Message.

Copyright © 2012 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.