29/10/07

Days of Trouble?

One day I phoned a friend of mine who is in the same church and asked, "How's it going?" His quiet reply was, "Well, I'm having one of those days."

The next time you're having one of those days when everything seems to be going wrong--your plans are falling apart, you don't feel well, there are problems and burdens, and it seems as if all of the forces of the enemy are against you--read Psalm 102. "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble" (Psalm 102:1, 2). What kind of a day was the psalmist having? A day of trouble. In fact, he compares himself to a lonely bird. "I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert.... I am like a sparrow alone upon the housetop" (vv. 6,7). That's the way he feels--like a bird alone on a housetop. He wants to go into the house and enjoy some fellowship, but he's alone.

The psalmist's enemies were reproaching him (v. 8). But in a day of trouble and reproach, he says, "I'm going to change this by the grace of God." And it becomes a day of prayer. He tells God how he feels and what he sees. He cries out, "God, You are the only one who can change things."

Everyone has days of trouble. When circumstances entrap you and trouble closes around you, pray to the Lord. He knows how to turn your trouble into triumph. Although He may not answer your prayers the way you expect, He will do what is best for you and for His glory. God can change things for you also. He may not change the circumstances on the outside, but He does change your feelings on the inside. Then the day of trouble becomes a day of triumph.


[ Prayer for the Day ]

Heavenly Father, You are a merciful God. You call us your own even though we are in sin. You do get angry on us when we reject You, but Your mercy and grace because of Your love for us saves us. Today O Lord I am depending on Your mercy and grace to save me and deliver me from my troubles. I thank you in faith for answering this prayer which I pray in the Name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen


[ Reference Scriptures ]

Psalm 102:1-11,16-17,24-28 [NIV]
¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD;
   let my cry for help come to you.
² Do not hide your face from me
   when I am in distress.
   Turn your ear to me;
   when I call, answer me quickly.
³ For my days vanish like smoke;
   my bones burn like glowing embers.
⁴ My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
   I forget to eat my food.
⁵ Because of my loud groaning
   I am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶ I am like a desert owl,
   like an owl among the ruins.
⁷ I lie awake; I have become
   like a bird alone on a roof.
⁸ All day long my enemies taunt me;
   those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
⁹ For I eat ashes as my food
   and mingle my drink with tears
¹⁰ because of your great wrath,
   for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹ My days are like the evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass.
¹⁶ For the LORD will rebuild Zion
   and appear in his glory.
¹⁷ He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
   he will not despise their plea.
²⁴ So I said:
   "Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days;
   your years go on through all generations.
²⁵ In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands.
²⁶ They will perish, but you remain;
   they will all wear out like a garment.
   Like clothing you will change them
   and they will be discarded.
²⁷ But you remain the same,
   and your years will never end.
²⁸ The children of your servants will live in your presence;
   their descendants will be established before you."

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