AN EVER PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE 3

 

Daniel 3:24-28

New King James Version

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

²⁵ “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire.

 ²⁷ And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!

When Shadrach Meshach and Abednego were taken captive, they were young and had their whole lives ahead of them. They were obviously from godly homes because we see them refusing to eat meat from the kings table because it had been sacrificed to idols in keeping with their Jewish beliefs. Yet in spite of being prisoners of war in a strange land they never turned their backs on God we have no record that they ever returned home or where reunited with their families but they kept waxing stronger in faith. As far as they were concerned even if God chose to allow them to be thrown into a burning furnace to be roasted to death for choosing to honour him they were okay with it, totally submitted to God’s will for their lives.

 

This was something I struggled so much with i.e. accepting what God allowed. Like these Hebrews I found myself in a ‘strange land’ called widowhood. My belief was God would satisfy my family and I with long life because we were His children and specifically asked Him for protection and long life and we didn’t deliberately do anything life threatening. This made it so difficult to accept my husband’s early death. However as Christians if we have done what we know to do we should leave the results in God’s hands because He alone has the big picture and regardless of what we have experienced he does all things our best interest.

As to be expected the king was furious and asked the furnace to be heated 7 times hotter than it should be and then had them bound and cast into the burning fiery furnace. The furnace was so hot that those that threw them in were consumed by the fire. The king and his advisers settled to watch these men burn but suddenly the king rose in haste and said to his counselors, did we not cast three men into the fire and they answered yes. Then he said ‘But I see four! He must have wondered if his eyes were playing a trick on him. There was something about the fourth man, according to the king he looked like the son of God! My Goodness! This makes me so excited! Yes! The ever and very present help was right there in the fire with them never leaving them nor forsaking them even for a moment.

An Ever Present Help in Trouble 2

AN EVER PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE 2

Psalm 46:1-5

King James Version

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

² Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
³ Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
⁴ There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

After writing the first part of this post when the Lord laid Ps. 46: 1-5 on my heart, I have been thinking and mediating on this passage (one of my favourite in scripture) what really stood out again is the fact that verse one says, God is a very present help in trouble, simply put he is there when you and I are in trouble not just present but VERY present. To me that means in trouble his presence takes control and becomes a refuge from the storm and a source of strength to keep us from falling and giving up.

Verse 2 says Therefore we will not fear in other words because God is with you no matter how harsh the storms you are facing even if your world physically, emotionally or in any other way seems to be falling apart, or the mountains are carried and thrown into the sea, the waters roar – that shows how angry and fierce the storm is, you can rest assured that you’ll get through it. We can liken the storm of death or loss to natural disasters, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis or earthquakes and easily recall the devastation they leave behind when they come calling. The most technologically advanced man made strategies put in place cannot hinder them. Many times even the most prepared nations ask people to evacuate areas where such disasters are expected. Why? The storm is to powerful and carries death and destruction with it. Yet God says He is a refuge in the midst of these kinds of storms.

You may have lost your husband or loved one to a natural disaster so you have experienced the strength of the storm of loss and grief but remember God is stronger and through it all He is with you. The loss of your husband or loved one has the impact of a storm with such a powerful force that could not be contained.  It came uninvited and stole something from you. Now you feel like you are still in the midst of the storm that is threatening to overwhelm you. The good news is that God is there with you.

I am reminded of the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3:1-30. These were foreigners who had risen to prominence in Babylon. Then one day king Nebuchadnezzar builds an image of gold and commands everyone to worship it with dire consequences for anyone who refuses. But because these men knew their God and that he was well able to save them in verse17 – 18 they tell the king that they know God will save them but if he chooses not to, they will not bow to his image. From the passage we find the King had threatened saying “who is that God that will deliver you out of my hands ‘ Nebuchadnezzar was about the most powerful man on earth and had the ability and capacity to make good His threat. He didn’t think any God could save them or anyone else from his hands no matter how powerful the God was.

The Ever Present help in Trouble.

God is our refuge and strenght,
A very present help in trouble,
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be
removed,
And though the mountains be
carried into the midst of the
sea;
Though the waters roar and be
troubled,
Though the mountains shake
with its swelling.
There is a river whose streams
shall make glad the city of God.
The holy place of the tabernacle
of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her,she shall not be moved;
God shall help her,just at the
break of dawn.
Psalms 46:1-5

As one day gives way for another and the night gives way to dawn the Lord God Almighty shall help you. He will send you the help you need to get through another day. The Lord thy God in the midst of you is mighty. Therefore like the Psalm said you shall not be moved.

The Lord your God in your
Midst,
The Mighty One,will save;
He will rejoice over you with
gladness,
He will quiet you with His
love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

Beloved be quieted in your spirit and soul by His love. Yes, He loves you and has good plans for you. I pray for you today that from your pain, loss and grief you will grow more
in the Lord and experience His love, peace, grace and abiding presence in new and

deeper measures. Remember God is your refuge from the storms of life including

 widowhood, He is your strenght and your ever present help in trouble. No matter what the challenge is He's got your back and He is right there with you. He  will walk you out of it to a safe place.
Keep holding on!

Bloody Monday, Good Friday and Ressurection Sunday!

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning

 Psalms 30: 5b

Bloody Monday, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday!

The morning of Monday 14^th April was a bloody Monday morning, as the horrifying news of the bomb blast at the El Rufai car park in Nyanya, outskirts of Abuja filtered in. It was a day like any other and many commuters were hurrying off to work or their businesses. Unknown to the over 70 people who lost their lives in the deadly blast all their dreams, hopes and plans for the future were about to come to an end never to be realized. All because some insane lunatic for reasons beyond the imagination of any right thinking person felt killing innocent people and injuring over a hundred others was a way of making a statement or proving some point. A bloody Monday it was indeed for these people .their families’ residents of Abuja and its environs and the entire Country.

In the past weeks and months Nigerians have experienced an avalanche of  bombings, attacks on public places and schools, killings, injuring of innocent people including children and abduction of young teenage girls from their schools. All of this has resulted in a sense of insecurity, fear and uncertainty. What a hopeless situation especially when victims and their families don’t get any justice or respite. So Monday’s attack was just another to start of the working week on a sad note few days later the working week ended on Good Friday. Good Friday - some two thousand years ago Jesus was brutalized and crucified. What was His offense, He healed the sick, raised the dead and set the captives free. For being good he was put to a shameful and painful death. It must have looked like a bloody Friday a sad day for Jesus’ family and disciples but three days later on Sunday morning the Lord Jesus rose from the dead providing forgiveness and redemption for mankind. Jesus’ resurrection that glorious Sunday morning was victory over sin, sickness, pain, injustice, death and the grave.

Good Friday and Resurrection (Easter) Sunday coming on the heels of the Nyanya bombing to me signifies hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. Today my heart goes out to the victims and their families. From experience I know that long after others have forgotten the incident and gone on with their lives those whose loved ones where killed will carry the pain of loss in their hearts. Their lives have been altered beyond what we can imagine. We live in a fallen world where sin and evil seem to have the upper hand. God has given man the liberty to make choices unfortunately some people use this precious gift negatively and make choices that infringe on other people’s rights causing much pain and suffering. The good news is that yes there was a bloody Monday but there is also a Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday the events of these two days are beautiful reminders that God is aware of all the evil and is still in control. We can have hope that just as there was a Good Friday there was a Resurrection Sunday. So for bloody Monday there is a Morning of Joy somewhere in the future for the victims and their families. God will ensure they get justice and heal their broken hearts!  

Prayer

Dear God, we bring before you today the precious people who lost their loved ones in the bomb blast last Monday. Father we ask that you comfort them and grant them peace as only you can. As they journey through grief walk with them. Restore their hope and joy and keep them safe in the hollow of your hands. We remember those that are in hospitals, Lord grant them healing and restore all they have lost. We pray for the peace of Nigeria and commit the battle against insurgents and terrorists to your able hands. The Bible tells us you are the Man of war please fight this battle and bring an end to evil in our land. For all the innocent girls abducted from their schools help our security operatives find them. Heal them of the abuse and trauma they have experienced. Lord let your resurrection power heal our hearts and our land and bring to life every dead situation. In Jesus Name Amen!

I Have No Man

'After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

³ In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

⁴ For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

⁵ And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

⁶ When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

⁷ The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

⁸ Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

⁹ And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath'. 

John 5:1-9 (KJV)

                    

‘I have no man’ - those where the words of the infirm man at the pool of Bethesda in our passage. The question was will you be made whole? But obviously the fact that this man had no “man “no helper, no family member or friend that was willing to keep watch with him had become the issue. So much so that he passed the opportunity he should have jumped at to say yes! I want to be made whole! Probably for the first time a ‘man’ was asking if he needed help. Exactly what he had prayed and hoped for, but his circumstances made him think defeat, all he was thinking was I have no man.  For thirty eight years he had been sick.  The bible doesn’t  tell us if he had been at the pool for that long no matter how long the fact was he had no one to help him get into the pool when the angel stirred the water.

I have often wondered where his family, friends or neighbors were, couldn’t they have taken turns to be with him.  They probably loved him but unfortunately not enough to stay among blind, lame and sick people just to help him get into the water and get healed. And so this man became discouraged.  He was in a bad state physically and emotionally. Was it true that he had no man? After all we get to meet him when there was a man asking, 'will you be made whole'?

Beloved as a widow you can identify with this man because you have ‘no man’.  Your man has been taken away from you and you are alone without the cover of a man. When I lost my husband, I wrote down what I lost in losing him in other words what a husband represents.  Provider, security, friend, confidant, leader, counselor, pastor etc there are certain things that are traditionally a man’s role in the family and my loss would be intensified when such situations came up. It may be as simple as changing a light bulb or as major as which University or Secondary school the children should attend.

The Night my Life Changed Forever!

I would have lost heart, unless I

had believed

That I would see the goodness of

the Lord

in the land of the living Ps 27:13

It was past 11pm I picked up my phone again and called. This time the line went through. What a relief!  I was happy the lines were going through at last! Hello, where are you….  I was already talking then I heard another Hello! I realized it was another person’s  voice, before I  could stop to ask who is this? The person on the other end blurted out in Hausa language ‘the owner of this phone has been involved in an accident’ I felt sick in my stomach for want of better words to describe what or how I felt. I was still trying to digest, understand or make sense of what I just heard; when I heard another voice at the background saying “just tell them he is dead”. Bang! It was like being hit by a volcano! I lost it and began to scream. Words simply cannot describe what I experienced that night. My life as I knew it had just ended.  The person on the other end of the phone was a police man, the phone was my husband’s and the dead man they were referring to was my husband.

Beyond the Shadow of Death

This book, Beyond the Shadow of Death,

is an exceptional piece of literature which serves three purposes.  First, it documents, for posterity, the story of a worthy pilgrim who fought a good fight, kept the faith and left this world in a blaze of glory.  Second, it underscores the power of faith in the journey through the labyrinth of pain and grief.  Third, it sends a message of comfort and hope to all those who grieve because of the loss of a loved one.  And the message is clear “…Joy comes in the morning.”