Tag: Bible

Trust in His Love

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love… ~ 1 John 4:16

Do you ever struggle with doubt? It can manifest itself in many different forms. It could be doubt about a decision that you’ve made, uncertainty about the direction of a relationship, or a lack of confidence in yourself as a person.

I struggle with doubt. For years I fought the temptation to doubt my salvation. Horrible obsessive thoughts and crippling anxiety made the situation worse. Satan twisted Scripture in my mind, and pushed me to focus on myself instead of Jesus – the author and perfector of my faith.

In His goodness, God delivered me from this stronghold. He helped me to rest in Him and His work on the cross for my salvation. He helped me to realize that He started a work in me and that He will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). It can still be a struggle at times, but it does not dominate my life like it used to. Praise Him!

But uncertainty about my salvation was not the end of my struggle with doubt. More recently I’ve felt like my Abba Father has been far from me. I couldn’t hear Him speaking to me when I read the Bible or prayed. I knew He was there, I just couldn’t feel His presence. It was a difficult time.

One day during my devotions I came across a familiar Scripture verse, but in a different Bible translation: “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love” 1 John 4:16 NLT. I began to see this verse in a different light. God spoke to me through His Word.

I didn’t need to doubt His love for me! Yes, at that point in time, it felt like God was absent from my life. But in truth He wasn’t far from me. He was right there beside me! His sacrificial death for me on the cross proved His great love for me. I could know it with certainty (even if I didn’t feel it), and could TRUST in His love. God helped me to replace my worries with His truth and enabled me to rest in my Savior’s arms.

Do you ever doubt God’s love for you? Has He ever felt far away and seemingly absent from your life? Please know that He is not! God’s children never have to doubt His affection for them. Look to the cross. Look to His Word. Ask for the Lord’s help to let go of the doubts and fears and to rest in His love. You will be glad you did!

More Precious than Gold

But [God] knows the way that I take (the way with me); when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Job 23:10

I thought of this verse before going to bed last night, and I looked it up. Then I was prompted to look at the context of the verse. I’m glad that I did!

At the end of Job Chapter 22 Job’s friend Eliphaz exhorts Job to delight in God as his gold and precious silver. The allusion to these precious metals sets the stage for Job 23:10, where Job states that he will “come forth as gold” after being tried by God.

Eliphaz (in Job 22:24-26) exhorts Job to “place your gold in the dust” – to find his fulfillment in God alone, above precious gold and silver! The neat thing is that the Hebrew for “the Almighty” in Job 22:25-26 means “Shaddai”; Job was exhorted to find his everything in God, to rely on God to be his portion, far above gold and silver.

I recently studied about the Hebrew meaning of “El Shaddai”, a name of God found in Scripture. In this passage of Job the author brings together El Shaddai (our Almighty Provider and Sustainer) with our need as Christians to rely on Him completely as He uses trials in our lives to refine us. We need God in EVERY situation!

At this realization I knew that God saw me in that moment, right where I was, amidst my struggle to keep Him as my everthing.

He is so good!

Father,

Be my portion, my all in all. Help me to lay aside all treasures from this world and to make You my gold and silver. Also, use the trials in my life to refine me and to present me as pure gold – precious in Your sight.

I love You, Abba!

Crystal (from a journal entry on 3/10/22)