Dear Brothers & Sisters,
My regrets at not sending out an email last week. Life can certainly get busy :).
I am writing to you this morning with a simple thought.
God's steadfast love has not ceased.
It sure can feel like it has sometimes. Perhaps you can relate to Jacob when he told Pharaoh "Few and full of trouble have been the days of my life" (Genesis 47:8-9). Or you, like the Psalm writers, have wondered WHY the wicked always prosper while the godly suffer.
In an unknown time of trouble, the Psalmist (Asaph) cried out to God. He wrote in Psalm 77:2-3.
"In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate my spirit faints"
Asaph goes on to say that he is so troubled he cannot speak, but he tries to remember the past. In the midst of his trouble he asked himself "WIll the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" (Psalm 77:7-9).
Asaph answers his questions by remembering the works of the LORD. He remembers "Your way, O God is holy. You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph." (Psalm 77:13-15) Then he adds a poetic description of God rescuing Israel, taking them through the Red Sea. "When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You lead your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron" (Psalm 77:16-20).
Right on the edge of certain destruction, when the people had given up all hope, God saved Israel. God has not changed. He's the same today as he was in Asaph's day and in those ancient days when he rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. No matter how things may appear, no matter how deep the waters you're facing are, God's love for his people (for you in Christ) has not run out. His promises are always true. God hasn't forgotten to be gracious.
I don't know why we face the trials we do. I don't know what the future has ahead for us. But I do know God is the same loving, saving God that he was in days of old. In your day of trouble, seek to see Him, remember the wonders he has done, turn to Him for refuge.
Grace & Peace be with you in Jesus.
Your brother in Christ,
Matt
Matthew Deneault
Pastor at Christ Community Fellowship
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