Strengthening

Isaiah 38:17 - Yes this anguish was good for me, You have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins.

The hard times we go through (and we ALL go through them) are good for us.  It may not seem that way in the moment, but they are.  They teach us to lean on the Lord for help more than we already do.  We can all say that we trust God, but the true measure of our faith is when we trust Him completely during the hard times.  When we completely surrender our will to Him, He has promised (and He will!) to rescue us and forgive us, and restore our strength.  God is forever faithful to us, and we need to be to Him as well.

As my faith has grown stronger over the last couple of years, I have learned to trust the Lord to get me through the hard times.  It was always so easy to say, "Well where is He now that I need Him the most?" and, "Well I guess I have to figure this out for myself."  That simply isn't the case.  He isn't a God of JUST the good times.  He has promised to take care of us during ALL times, and I need to make sure that I am remaining faithful to Him and trusting Him to get me through the downs as well as the ups.

Dear Abba Father, thank You for taking care of me when I needed You most.  I know I haven't always been quick to call on You when I am struggling, but I am working on it and getting better about it.  I pray that You will see my faithfulness grow, and forgive me of all of my shortcomings.  Help me to continue to understand that the hard times are good for me, and necessary, to remind me to rely on You for everything.  In Jesus' name, Amen!



God Bless!!!