Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalms 107:1 (ESV) Consider how we are sometimes afraid of surrendering things to the Lord, or afraid of obeying him in a difficult situation. Why are we afraid or resistant? Usually, a part of us thinks that this will cause us pain. Going deeper, we may think that the benefits will not outweigh the pain. If we really believed that what God was doing was good, and not harmful, then wouldn’t we let go of our fear? Would we have any fear at all? Isn’t it always good to surrender and obey? Is there any question that the good will outweigh the temporary pain? Yet, it can be very difficult to get our hearts to fully embrace God’s goodness. We may believe the doctrine of the goodness of God, but our hearts still resist surrendering Continue Reading →

The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. (Psalms 103:19, NIV) It is important for our peace that we trust that Yahweh rules over all. In the Old Testament God’s heavenly kingdom had not come to earth, so his rule was not as complete as with the New Covenant. And his rule in the inauguration phase that Jesus brought is not as complete in the fulfillment phase after Jesus returns. So in this “in between” time, between the comings of Christ, God uses all the bad things in life to produce good things. This means that no matter what happens in your life, God rules over your circumstances by using them to make you more like Christ. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn how God will bring good out of bad, like he brought good out of the crucifixion of Christ. So remember Continue Reading →

But from everlasting to everlastingthe LORD’s love is with those who fear him. Psalms 103:17 (NIV) How long is forever? That’s how long Yahweh will love us. And he has loved us ever since he conceived us in his mind, for his love is also from everlasting history. If we fear and honor him for who he is – and why wouldn’t we? – then he will never stop loving us. He will bring us to a good end and we will live with him and his people in perfect harmony forever. It is important to ask ourselves how much we believe that God loves us. One way to do this is to repeat some of his declarations about his love for us and then take note of how our mind and heart respond. Are we able to fully believe his words in our heart or is there some doubt Continue Reading →

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; Psalms 103:13 Think about how we treat children when they are in pain. Do we minimize their pain? Do we neglect them? Do we expect them to act like adults? And think about how we treat children when they do something destructive. Do we berate them or put them down? Do we punish them just to hurt them? Do we withhold our love or support for them? Yahweh has compassion on us like we have compassion on children. If we fear him, honor and revere him, then he has compassion on our pain. He cares, he wants to comfort us and he does not put us down for being fragile. When we do something destructive he may discipline us for our own growth, but he does not punish us. He does not Continue Reading →

[Yahweh] satisfies your desires with good thingsso that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalms 103:5 (NIV) In what way does God satisfy our desires with good things? In this age he does not promise abundant provision or a godly political system or perfect health. He does not promise freedom from pain, sadness or loss. He does not even promise a direct vision of himself. These are all good things that we naturally desire, yet he does not promise them. Yet. We will have all of these on the New Earth, but we do not have them now. So, what do we have? He satisfies the deepest longings of the human heart. He gives us a direct connection to him by placing his Spirit inside us. He gives us peace that passes understanding, he gives us deep joy even if it is mixed with sorrow, he gives us truth Continue Reading →