Good Morning All,
Psalm 145: 18-19: “The Lord
is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of
those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them”
Sometimes life goes relatively
smoothly. We coast through the days,
happy as most things go according either to our plans or our desires. We often don’t think too much when things go
well.
But when we face trouble, we often see
things differently. We usually start to
wonder what we did wrong to deserve this trouble. We sometimes wonder if we are the only ones
who are being afflicted. We see pain in
our family; we are restless and unable to sleep. All the time we struggle with why. Why is this happening and why God isn’t
fixing it?
One of the big problems that we have in
our lives, and in this country especially, is that we think only of our
selves. We see our problems as above and
beyond anyone else’s. We somehow think
that since we have been so incredibly blessed for so long that we are somehow
entitled to those blessings. The truth
is we are no better than anyone else. We
are all sinners and deserve death. A few
years ago a book was written by the title of “When Bad Things Happen to Good
People”. It was a best seller. The problem with the title is that there are
no good people. We have all sinned and
deserve only God’s wrath and punishment.
BUT God, in his mercy, has chosen to save
us. He has redeemed us from the devil
and the power of sin and called us to be his children. He has given us salvation and He has given us
the tools to survive under him in his kingdom.
He gives us his Word through which He speaks His Words of love and
forgiveness. He gives us His holy
sacraments; the water connected to the Word to cleanse us and His precious body
and blood to refresh us and renew us. He
also gives us the power and gift of prayer.
Notice our verse “The Lord is near all who
call on Him.” We never walk alone; we never face the trials and struggles of
this life alone. God is always with
us. Jesus experienced everything which
we have or will and he conquered it for us.
We can confidently and boldly go to Him in prayer and He will hear our
cry and He will save us. How God chooses
to do this is a mystery to us. Yet we
can have confidence in a God that saved us from the devil with the incredible
price of His Son dying on a cross to protect and defend us.
We may face health issues that are life
altering or require surgery. We may see
our job teetering on the brink of disappearing.
We may watch our land dry up and blow away. We may see our whole country collapse under
the weight of too many problems and too few answers. We may see it all but we know that as God’s
people He will rescue us from eternal damnation and give us hope and comfort
when all other supports fail around us.
Go to God in prayer. Go to him in
earnest, sincere prayer and He will answer you.
In the Book of James we read that “we do not have, because we do not
ask.” Make daily prayer part of your
life not as a superstition or the last act of a desperate man. Go to Him in faith, confessing our sins,
thanksgiving for the gifts we have and for the needs which we have. He has promised to answer; He has promised to
be near and to incline his ear to you and to listen to you and to give you his
comfort and peace. Speak to the Lord for
He is listening.
Dear
gracious Lord, your holy will is truly accomplished without us but you have
called upon your people to pray to you and to ask for your blessings. Father we pray for all those who are hurting
and lost. We ask that you comfort them
and sustain them. We look around and see
all the blessing that we have and we give you thanks for them especially for
the grace which we receive from you through the life, death and resurrection of
Jesus in whose name we pray. Amen
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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