Seize the Moment – Day 1144
Pray through the Suffering!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 5.
Suffering is a reality of life. Don’t waste it! Pray through your time of suffering and draw closer to God because of it, just like the psalmist did in Psalm 44:23-26:
Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not reject us forever. Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and our oppression? For our soul has sunk down into the dust; Our body cleaves to the earth. Rise up, be our help, and redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.
Have you ever felt like that? Like the Sovereign God was asleep at the wheel? That very sentiment fuels one of the popular philosophical arguments against Christianity – if an all-powerful God is truly good, then why is there evil and suffering in the world? While the skeptic simplistically concludes that there can be no such god, we know there is a reason for suffering in this life. All championship athletes have learned the value of suffering in their training regimen to reach their potential!
Paul asked in Romans 8:35, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Interestingly, he answered by quoting today’s psalm. Paul found the answer to God’s covenant faithfulness within our human suffering, from verses 20-22, “If we had forgotten the name of our God or extended our hands to a strange god, would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. But for Your sake we are killed all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” God proves Himself to us in our times of suffering (Romans 8:37-39).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 44, meditating upon the loyal love of God through your suffering – “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; [Jesus has] overcome the world” (John 16:33).
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.