Never alone

We’re not even half way through 2020 yet. The days ahead feel uncertain to me- uncharted & unknown. More so than previous years.

Like many I feel under pressure & anxious too. This difficult truth comes from James:
‘Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.’
(James 1:2 MSG)

We keep going because of God’s grace:
‘So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.’
(2 Corinthians 4:16-18 MSG)

We can go to God when worries pile up:
‘When I begin to feel the anxiety of the future rush into my present, like a child I can remember that my life is hidden with Christ in God & there is no safer place in all the world (see Colossians 3:3)’
(Emily P Freeman-Simply Tuesday)

If we are Christians, we are never alone. God goes with us:
‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord Your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you’  
(Deut 31:6 – NIV)

God goes before us:
‘The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged’ (Deut 31:8 – NIV)

He is always there:
‘You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head’
(Psa 139:3 &5-NLT)

We can trust God:
‘All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.’
(1 Corinthians 10:13 MSG)

We need to trust God rather than our feelings:
‘While walking through a dark season,if we attempt to navigate our lives by how we feel, we will run aground on the rocks. We must navigate by what we know is true no matter what we feel.
Truth is like a lighthouse on a stormy, pitch-black night that steers us clear of the feelings that would wreck us’
(The Storm inside- Sheila Walsh)

I love the tag line of this book:
‘Trade the chaos of how you feel for the truth of who you are’

We can hold on to God’s truth in the stormy days.

‘GOD ’s your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you-
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.
GOD guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave
and when you return,
he guards you now,
he guards you always.’
(Psalm 121:5-8 MSG)

He lights each step on the dark days.
‘Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.’
(Psalms 119:105 NIV)

And though we can’t see what lies ahead, we need to step out-since we are not alone.

‘The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him’
(Psalms 37:23 NIV)

We can take one step at a time with God.

‘Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase’
(Martin Luther King Jr)

So, today & in the days that lie ahead,
‘May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.’
(Psalms 33:22 NIV)

Blessings,

Ruth x