Hearing His Voice #342

Encouraged by the Holy Spirit . . .

Acts 9:31, NIV

The battle had been raging for a long time. I was enduring one of the most difficult periods of my life, and I wasn’t sure if I could keep going. Was I headed in the right direction? Were my ways pleasing to God? Was my faith going to be rewarded? I was very discouraged, fearing the answers to those questions might be no. I was emotionally at the end of my rope. One morning when I was particularly depressed, I prayed before I got into my car: “Lord, please encourage me today. I just need to know You’re with me.”

When I got to work, the “verse of the day” on my personalized web browser was Isaiah 43:1-2: “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” A few minutes later, someone stopped by my office to let me know they had been praying for me. And in the afternoon, I received some encouraging news about the situation. It wasn’t a resolution, but it was a promising turn of events. And to top it off, I received a completely unrelated phone call from one of my favorite people. By the end of the day, I felt lighter and my faith felt stronger. The situation hadn’t changed, but I knew I wasn’t alone in it or on the verge of defeat. God had orchestrated an encouraging day.

It doesn’t always happen that way so quickly. Sometimes God lets us experience a little darkness as we reach out for light. But He eventually encourages us because it’s His nature to do so. He wants us to know He is on our side, and He will use His entire repertoire of expressions to say so.

Lord, I need Your encouragement today—and every day. Strengthen me with the sound of Your voice and the knowledge of Your presence.