HIS HAND
OF FAVOR 
"It was not by their sword
that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them
victory;
it was Your right hand,
Your arm, and
the light of Your face,
for You loved them."
(Psalm 44:2-3)
 

Trumpet & Torch Ministries

 Setting the World on Fire
for Christ -
One Heart at a Time!
 
77 DAYS OF PRAYER
"To this I will appeal:
the years of the right hand of the Most High."
(Psalm 77:10)

                                                                    December 17, 2012

 

Day 42

Everlasting Arms

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Dear Praying Friend,
  
When we are walking through difficult or challenging circumstances the natural impulse is to try to get away from, or quickly through, the trial as possible.  We want the pain, or need, or confusion to just go away.  The most difficult thing to do in times of crisis is to surrender to the situation and trust that there is a higher purpose (and power) involved.  In times of trouble we long for things to just get better.  However, what we see as painful, God sees as purposeful - He always has our best in mind.  Betsy ten Boom said to her sister Corrie during one of the most horrific times in human history, "There is no place so deep that God is not deeper still."  She understood the beauty of surrendering to the everlasting arms of God and trusting in His unchanging character.  Her circumstances had dramatically changed, but her God never would, and in Him she found extraordinary peace and rest in the most inconceivable place. 
 
"The eternal God is your refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms."
(Deuteronomy 33:27)
  
As we conclude our meditation of Psalm 102 with verses 24b-28, the psalmists' turns his attention to the changeless character of God. His world had been turned upside down and inside out, his body has been in agonizing pain, his heart has been distressed, but, through it all, he realized there is one thing that has remained a constant in his life - His God. His God is eternal and in Him he found his refuge in the midst of the storm. In the Lord he discovered an everlasting safe haven to put his trust.  May we follow his example in whatever circumstances we face.  
  
Dear Heavenly Father, I praise You that I can rest in the shelter of Your wings.  The world can be spinning out of control, but in You I find the calm in the midst of the storm.  You remain the same and Your years will not end.  You do not change like the shifting shadows, on the contrary, You are the same yesterday and today and forever.  In You I find my peace; I praise You for the rest I find in You. I am thankful that You do not change Your mind and that Your promises and purposes will be fulfilled. Help us to turn our hearts back to You and realize that our hope and trust is in You.  I long for the day when You will return to make all things new, as has always been Your plan, for now I'm simply leaning on the everlasting arms...
  
"What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
  
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
  
Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
  
What I have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms."
  
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
  
(Elisha A. Hoffman, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", 1887)  
  
Steadfast in prayer,
  
Traci Alexander
Trumpet and Torch Ministries
Psalm 27
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Prayer Scripture References: Psalm 9:7; 61:4; Hebrews 1:12; 13:8; James 1:17b; 2 Peter 3:13.
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