Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

Those who look to him are radiant,and their faces shall never be ashamed. Psalms 34:5 (NIV) Those who keep their gaze on the Lord will find that their lives will shine with the Lord’s radiance. In other words, we reflect God’s beautiful light when we keep our focus on him. This is a privilege that he gives to his people. We find a vivid illustration of this gift in the life of Moses. When he went up on Mt. Sinai and beheld the Lord, his face began to shine so much that when he came back down the people were afraid of the radiance (Exodus 34:30) so he ended up putting a veil over his face. 2 Corinthians 3:18 draws on this story and explains that believers “with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” Continue Reading →

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, Psalms 33:18 (NIV) Being invisible, we often wonder what God is doing around us. We hope that we are pleasing him. We hope that he is looking down on us with approval and keeping a watch on our lives. This verse promises that if we fear him (respect his divine power) and hope in his love then he is watching us. His eyes are on us. We might know this in our head but it is important to meditate on it until it becomes a living reality in our heart. His eyes are on you as you read this. His attention is focused on you. This may not be so hard to believe during periods of our life when we can easily feel his presence. But are we willing to Continue Reading →

The Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. Psalms 32:10 (NIV) We have many challenges to faith in God in our lives. We are constantly tempted to worry instead of trust. We are constantly tempted to fix problems on our own because we do not want to entrust them to God and let his words guide us. We are tempted to shade the truth and deny the truth about ourselves. In short, we are tempted to live in fear and self-reliance instead of living in God’s love. This passage promises us that his love surrounds us when we trust in him. What is more secure and comforting than that? True, we can’t see him, and we don’t hear his audible voice telling us that he loves us and will work all things together for good. But, we do have his promises. So it is much wiser to Continue Reading →

10 My life is consumed by anguishand my years by groaning;my strength fails because of my affliction,and my bones grow weak.11 Because of all my enemies,I am the utter contempt of my neighborsand an object of dread to my closest friends—those who see me on the street flee from me. Psalms 31:10-11 (NIV) 19 How abundant are the good thingsthat you have stored up for those who fear you,that you bestow in the sight of all,on those who take refuge in you. Psalms 31:19 (NIV) Today we look at Psalm 31. In this psalm the author describes his miserable life. It is so bad that he says his whole life is consumed with anguish and he has spent years groaning about it. His neighbors hold him in contempt. His closest friends dread the sight of him! Apparently his life was so disastrous that his friends didn’t want to talk to Continue Reading →

“[Yahweh] blesses his people with peace” Psalms 29:11 (NIV) The Hebrew word for “peace” in this passage is the well-known Hebrew word “shalom”, which means all-around harmony and prosperity in one’s life. In the Old Testament this included one’s physical circumstances. God promised faithful believers that he would bless their finances, their families, and their living conditions. Yet we do not see the same promises in the New Testament. Why? The New Testament often promises peace, using a Greek translation of the Hebrew word shalom. Yet in the New Testament believers are promised persecution, the pain of carrying their Cross and general rejection by the world. So how can this be peace? The New Testament promises a deeper interior peace. The peace in the New Testament is actually superior to the peace of the Old Testament. We have the peace that is beyond understanding (Phil. 4:7). We are instructed to Continue Reading →