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Reasons to Go On, Part 5: When it Seems Like Everything is Against You…

by | Oct 18, 2014 | Promises, Reasons to go on (A Mini-Series)

In this series, REASONS TO GO ON, we have looked at a number of different examples of people who had no reason to go on, and what it was that motivated them. We have learned the following lessons:

1. Naomi taught us that without our hard times, God can’t work the miracles He needs to work in this world! He indeed makes everything beautiful, in His time.

2. Sarah taught us that God keeps all His promises.

3. Elijah taught us that our reason to get up in the morning is to rejoice in the anticipation of what miracles God will perform to get us through each day.

4. And finally, we learned that the King of the universe resides in our hearts, and this is the best reason to go on, the reason to get up in the morning, the reason we live and move and have our being!

But when we’re in the midst of hard times, it is really hard to remember these truths, let alone apply them!

The content of this devotional, based on Psalms 73, was recently published under the title, “When it Seems Like Everything is Against You …” It will be republished today however, for the message serves to summarize this series very nicely.

You see, the author of Psalms 73 knew what it was like to have no reason to go on. He felt like God had abandoned him, like everything was going good for everyone but himself, like no matter how much or how ardently he sought after God, God didn’t hear, and perhaps didn’t even care.

And isn’t this how we feel in those moments of our lives when there seems to be no reason to go on?

When this Psalm was written, the writer was at a point in his life when he couldn’t hear God’s voice. In fact, he felt as if only the wicked were the recipients of God’s love and grace:

“For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. … They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth … This is what the wicked are like – always carefree, they increase in wealth.”

And though these wicked folk even seem to blaspheme the Most High God, someone who has strived to keep his heart pure before the Lord receives only punishment from the Lord:

“Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning …”

But the answer to this dilemma comes when the author decides to do one last thing: “… till I entered the sanctuary of God …”

You see, he didn’t just sit there accusing God of being unfair, as we would tend to do. Instead, he sought God!

And what happened?

First of all, in the presence of the Almighty God, things came into perspective:

“Then I understood their (the wicked) final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin …”

And once brought face to face with Truth, he was humbled:

“When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.”

Then he was again able to see reality. Notice the Truth that he saw:

1. God never left him: “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.”

2. God is his everything: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

3. No matter what, he can always rejoice in God’s presence: “But as for me, it is good to be near God.”

4. He will tell of God’s goodness, no matter what: “I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”

Friends, when it seems like there is no reason to go on, let’s remember to fight this feeling by following the example of this Bible writer: Let’s seek God and rejoice in His presence! For when we do, we will learn 4 important lessons:

a. God will punish those who have created the situations we are in.

B. When we are grieved and our spirits embittered, we become senseless and ignorant, a brute beast before God.

C. We are nothing without God. Even in the midst of horrible circumstances, it is good to be near God, to make the Sovereign Lord our refuge, to seriously be able to say, “God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!”

D. No matter the circumstances, God has never left us!

If we follow this example, our perspectives will change. Our hearts will lighten, and we will again be filled with the joy of the Lord. And most importantly, we’ll regain our reason to go on!

Don’t believe this Bible author?

Why not try it for yourselves?

God bless you as you take courage from Him to go on!

In His love,

Lyn

Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two teens, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, www.scripturalnuggets.org, with Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org.

(To access the entire “Reasons to go On” mini-series, please click here.)

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