By Stella
Dhinakaran
Dearly beloved,
The Psalmist says, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6). This is a wonderful faith-kindling promise! We read in Psalm 71:3, “Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually,” in Isaiah 26:4, “The Lord, is the Rock eternal” and in Psalm 95:1 that He is the ‘Rock of our salvation.”
Dearly beloved, do we have such a kind of firm hope and trust? In the Bible, we read about the testimony of many people who fastened their eyes on the Lord even amidst their loss, loneliness and discarded state and received blessings. Let us carefully study the experiences of a few of them and receive God’s glorious blessings.
How did God change the life of Job who lived amidst tribulations, afflictions, reproach and shame?
In Psalm 121:1,2 the Psalmist says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” According to these verses, an unshakable trust on God rose within Job. As a result, he could say, “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15) and “When He has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). This is what is mentioned by Peter in the following verse: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith be of greater worth than gold, refined by fire. You faith when proved genuine will result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (I Peter 1:6,7).
Yes, even when Job went through sufferings, eventually the Lord changed everything and blessed him.
Look at the life of Queen Esther! Since the Lord’s blessing was manifested in her life, she had the privilege of becoming the queen and wife of Ahasuerus, a great and eminent king. Destruction was about to come upon the Jews, her clan, through the wicked Haman. Yet even in that situation, she placed her hope and trust only on the Lord and held on to His feet firmly. She humbled herself completely and waited in the presence of God with fasting. She pleaded to the Lord with the firm trust that He alone can save her and her tribe. According to Nahum 1:7 which says, “He cares for those who trust in Him,” her strong trust in God made her wise and courageous.
Similarly, we read how many Biblical men of God trusted the Lord and discarded their fear of men and received miracles and blessings. You who read this should trust the Lord and not man with the faith that He is with you and receive His blessings.
The Bible says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12). According to His promise, God has prepared a reward for all the conquerors in Christ- a crown that lasts forever.
