Strong And Courageous

Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!

2 Chronicles 32:7-8

Are you facing overwhelming circumstances? Are there situations in your life that look as if they will defeat you? Do you seem small in comparison? Your enemy hopes to keep you focused on his forces and keep you trapped in that perspective. He hopes to call your attention to how you stack up against the circumstances that face you. If he can do that, then your enemy will define your experience.

Today, regroup. Refocus. Let the eyes of your heart come to rest on God. Be strong and courageous, not afraid or discouraged. You can be sure there is good reason for a new perspective: what you see is not the whole picture. You are never in the battle alone. Your battle is God’s battle. Every time. You can say to the enemy, “Take it up with him.”

A friend of mine faced a scary financial situation. Her husband had lost his job without warning. She was terrified, and every way she looked at their financial situation yielded a bleak outcome. Everything she could see told her that defeat was certain.

But God had been busy laying the groundwork for his provision in ways that weren’t part of the picture my friend was focused on. Her husband had owned a fairly worthless piece of land since before she knew him. It had been for sale for years. The week after his layoff, someone called to buy the land. A development was going up. The money was enough to sustain them through the year it took for him to find employment again. While my friend was worrying and stewing, God had been working out the solution.

I don’t know what God is doing in your situation, but he is doing something. The fact that you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t in process.

Father, I’m leaving you in charge of my situation.

Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith.

Henry Ward Beecher(1813–1887), American minister, abolitionist, and author