What comforts you through the darkness?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
(Psalms 23:4 (NKJV))

Everyone faces darkness and tough times in their lives. What do you do when this happens? Do you cower in fear? Do you give in to the attacks of the enemy? Do you throw yourself a pity party and lock yourself away from the world in hopes that your tough times will go away? Do you lash out at the world trying to put up a front? Do you attack head-on in such a way that you think that you are able to overcome these times on your own?

To be honest with you, we have all probably used each one of these approaches in our lives when dealing with darkness and tough times. Have any of them truly worked? Did the tough times go away? Did your stress levels return to a peaceful state?

I have been on my journey with Jesus for a long time, and each time that I have faced a tough time in my life over the years, it has actually gotten easier to deal with. With each event, I have learned more about the promises of God. I have learned that I can trust Him to see me through, even when the world seems to be crashing in all around me. It hasn’t come easily, and my journey is still a work in progress, but I know that my faith is firmly placed in the One who created all things. I know that He will see me through all things, even the darkness. With the track record that the Lord has allowed me to experience, I can look back in all honesty and see how He was leading me. With this assurance, I can look ahead in all faith and know that He will lead me according to His will with my maturity in Jesus as the goal.

I don’t know about you, but I find great comfort in this truth even when I do not see any worldly way out of the darkness. I find great comfort in knowing that He is always with me!

What comforts you through the darkness?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you afraid of anything in this world?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
(2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV))

The Creator of the universe is on our side. If God is for us, then we do not need to be timid about anything that we ask in His name. We do not need to fear anything or anyone. We should face the world with what God has given us through Jesus Christ. We should face the world with hope, faith, love, power, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

It is through the full acceptance of what God has planned for us that we become what God has called us to. If we have accepted God’s gift of grace and mercy, and God is the Creator of all things, why do we need to be timid and fearful of what the world will do to us? God made the world. Through our sin, we have died in the world. Through grace, we are alive in the world, and for eternity! The world can do nothing to us if we look at the “BIG PICTURE” that God has planned. The only danger that we face is the loss of our current life, but we have the assurance of eternal life through Jesus. Satan cannot take that from us. Only when you truly face danger do you really have a spirit of timidity and fear. As long as we trust in Jesus, we have no reason to fear for there is no danger that can separate us from His love!

What danger can overcome us if we have truly accepted the grace of God through Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Why do we fail to remember what God has done?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.
(Deuteronomy 7:18 (NIV))

In case you haven’t noticed, human nature is a strange thing!

We have a tendency to forget things that have happened and, at the same time, we are likely to remember things that didn’t happen.

If there was ever a group of people that should have no problem remembering things, it was the Israelites that Moses lead out of Egypt. They had witnessed the plagues. They had lived through the Angel of Death at the first Passover. They had watched God part the waters of the Red Sea so that they could walk across dry land. They had been given manna to eat in the desert. They had seen water gush forth after Moses struck a rock at God’s command.

Still they muttered and were afraid of what lie ahead!

They and their descendants had all too quickly forgotten all that the Lord had done for them to get them to that point. They looked at the problems before them and failed to remember the huge problems that God had delivered them from and through in the not so distant past.

What is it about being human that makes us forget and makes us worry? Perhaps it is the very same thing that makes us look at our surroundings when we are driving on a high and curvy mountain road. We know that we should have nothing to worry about, but there is something about the potential danger that makes us forget successful endeavors in the past. We simply overreact in fear when we should fully realize that we have nothing to fear.

We panic!

And in our panic, it’s as if all of our memories and ability to reason go flying out the window!

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
(Romans 8:31 (NIV))

Why do we fail to remember what God has done?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready for Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
(Revelation 22:12 (NIV))

I don’t know if you have been keeping up with all of the things going on in the world. The Shemitah, the blood moons, the harbingers, the papal visit, the dreams and visions that are running rampant, the world financial crisis, ISIS, CERN and many other things all point to something happening. Things are reaching a boiling point very rapidly.

I realize that the Bible says that no man knows the hour or the day, but I want to ask you a simple question, If Jesus were to return for His true church this very day, would you be ready?

Let’s look at this with a few quick questions.

Are you fearful of what may happen in this world and in your life, or do you have peace in knowing that God is in control?

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
(2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV))

Are you timid? Are you fearful, or do you stand firm on the promises that are yes in Christ?

Do you love the world? Do you cling to your possessions and your position?

Here comes the big question. Are you afraid of death? Nobody in their right mind wants to die, but are you confident in knowing what will happen to you when the time comes?

No one knows what tomorrow may hold, but we can rest assured that we know who holds tomorrow.

Are you ready if tomorrow brings something that you don’t expect?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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