Listen to the Word of God in Psalm 32:7. “

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”

And in Psalm 42:8.

“By day the LORD directs his [covenant] love, at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.”

Be blessed to know that the God of your life sings over you as a mother soothes and comforts a child.

In His arms, He surrounds you with songs of deliverance as you are led through strongholds of fear and anxiety to a place of safety, assurance, and confidence in Him. In any trouble, you can sing under the wings of the Most High in harmony with His songs.

Your Father secured His covenant with you in His only Son. He can never forget His covenant promises to you. He has written your days in the Lamb’s book. Listen to how The Message expresses Malachi 3:16-17.

“Then those whose lives honored GOD got together and talked it over. GOD saw what they were doing and listened in. A book was opened in GOD’s presence, and minutes were taken of the meeting, with the names of the GOD-fearer’s written down, all the names of those who honored GOD’s name. GOD-of-Angel-Armies said, ‘They’re mine, all mine. They’ll get special treatment when I go into action. I treat them with the same consideration and kindness that parents give the child who honors them.’ “

Beloved one, receive this promise. You can tell others of your confidence in God’s name and His faithfulness. Your name is ever before Him in heaven on a scroll of remembrance. He acts on your behalf, just because you are His. He cannot deny His own special treasure. He will rescue you as a compassionate father spares an obedient child.

All spiritual warfare is about revealing the majesty and supremacy of God. Live in the power and authority of His spiritual victory as GOD-of-Angel-Armies. He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). You have abiding safety in the Commander of the armies of heaven. His love covers you completely. His defense of you is invulnerable and never ceases. He is your defended place. Run to Him as your safe place. His nearness is your good. You have undisturbed fearlessness as you settle down and make your home in Him. He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies.

Believe and receive His unfailing perfect covenant love that casts out fear (1 John 4:18). Take this deep into your spirit and life-experience. You have His faithful promises that you are secure in His protecting presence. You can rest totally depending on the character of God. Be blessed to trust in the All-sufficient One who is enough. See what God is doing in your life that is a stepping stone to more of Jesus. Jesus is your shield of faith. In Him nothing can destroy your joy, your hope, your relationships, your witness, or God’s purposes. And the God of peace will soon crush satan under His feet.

Be blessed in the name of the one who will never forsake you, as He says to you:

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.  
Isaiah 41:10,13

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:6,8

Be blessed in the name of the God of your life
(Psalm 42:8).

By Sylvia Gunter
Used by Permission
From: You Are Blessed In The Names Of God, page 103-104, © 2008 Sylvia Gunter

FURTHER READING

• Keeping Yourself in God’s Love – even during painful times in your life

• He Put a Song in My Heart

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

Follow Us On:

SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL: FOLLOW THIS LINK

The post No Fear in God’s Hiding Place appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.” Psalm 16:1

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble.” Psalm 32:7a

Our granddaughter Renee, when she was little, was afraid of animals. All animals terrified her. We didn’t know why. She just was.

Pat, our youngest daughter, was still living at home and had talked me into letting her have a cat. A white cat she named Ugali. This cat had the run of the house. My house rules had changed considerably since we moved off the farm.

When Renee came over, we would generally lock the cat in one of the bedrooms, but occasionally Ugali would get out and wander into the kitchen where we were visiting. When Renee noticed the cat she would run as fast as she could to the closest adult and get on their lap, tuck her feet up into their lap and make herself as small as possible. She “took refuge” in the arms of an adult she trusted. We were her “hiding place”.

We did not scold her for being scared. We would put our arms around her and talk to her softly, comfort her until she was brave enough to go and play again.

Now we knew that the cat had no intentions of harming that little child. But she didn’t know that, so we merely held her.

I believe God is even more gentle with us. We can come to Him with our fears, whether they are real or imagined. He will surround us with His loving arms, talk softly to us, and strengthen us until we are brave enough to face the world again.

Thank You, Lord, for being our refuge when we are afraid, whether it is real or imagined. Thank You that You are our hiding place. Amen.

By Katherine Kehler
Used by Permission

Comments: If you don’t see our response form, please go to https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/katherine-kehler_take-refuge/

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL: FOLLOW THIS LINK

Follow Us On:

The post Hiding Place appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Peter knows he is in trouble.

The winds roar down onto the Sea of Galilee like a hawk on a rat. Lightning zigzags across the black sky. The clouds vibrate with thunder. The rain taps, then pops, then slaps against the deck of the boat until everyone aboard is soaked and shaking. Ten-foot waves pick them up and slam them down again with bone jarring force.

These drenched men don’t look like a team of apostles who are only a decade away from changing the world. And you can be sure of one thing. The one with the widest eyes is the one with the biggest biceps, Peter. He’s seen these storms before. He’s seen the wreckage and bloated bodies float to shore. He knows what the fury of wind and wave can do. And he knows that times like this are not times to make a name for yourself; they’re times to get some help.

That is why, when he sees Jesus walking on the water toward the boat, he is the first to say,

“Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water”? (Matthew 14:28)

He is aware of two facts: He’s going down, and Jesus is staying up. And it doesn’t take him too long to decide where he would rather be.

Perhaps a better interpretation of his request would be, “Jeeeeeeeesus. If that is you, then get me out of here!”

“Come on” is the invitation.

And Peter doesn’t have to be told twice. It’s not every day that you walk on water through waves that are taller than you are. But when faced with the alternative of sure death or possible life, Peter knows which one he wants.

The first few steps go well. But a few strides out onto the water, and he forgets to look to the One who got him there in the first place, and down he plunges.

Peter’s response may lack class – it probably wouldn’t get him on the cover of  Sports Illustrated, but it gets him out of some deep water: “Help me!”

And since Peter would rather swallow pride than water, a hand comes through the rain and pulls him up.

The message is clear.

As long as Jesus is one of many options, he is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don’t need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he won’t be taken half-heartedly.

But when you mourn, when you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then cast all your cares on him, for he is waiting in the midst of the storm.

By Max Lucado
From: The Applause of Heaven

Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://www.maxlucado.com/about/

If you have never entrusted your life to God, you can do that today and feel the relief that he is in control.

Sample prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to trust you from now on. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person You want me to be. Thank you for enabling me to trust you in these uncertain times. Amen.

Is it the desire of your heart to make this prayer yours?

If yes, pray now and according to his promise, Jesus Christ will come into your life.

Comments: If you don’t see our response form, please go to https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/max-lucado_storm/

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

Follow Us On:

The post He is Waiting in the Midst of the Storm appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10

Janice ran from God! She left home to get away from Him.  At her new college, she chose to ignore Him.  She was invited to a campus Bible study, but refused to go.

Her roommates were foreign exchange students.  They spoke little English and soon, she became lonely.

One day, as she was cleaning her dorm room, Janice discovered the Bible study invitation.  With nothing to lose, she decided to attend.

Janice was tremendously overwhelmed by what she saw and hear of God’s love. She invited Jesus into her life through prayer. God changed her!  When she returned to her home, He used her to begin a ministry on her college campus.

Dear one, God’s love is never far away.  Make yourself available to Him.  He will use you in ministry to others.

By Vonette Bright

Email Visitors, please visit our webpage to leave a comment. We warmly invite your thoughts on this devotional.

Sharae with a Friend

Would you take just a moment to prayerfully consider sending this to two friends who might be blessed by what we’ve shared today?
If you received this issue from a friend, you can join our list at www.thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/

Brought to you by www.thoughtsaboutgod.com

…………………………………..

The post Running to God appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“When Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end.” Romans 6:5-6 (MSG)

Don’t you love that sentence? “It was the signal of the end of death-as-the-end.”

The resurrection is an exploding flare announcing to all sincere seekers that it is safe to believe. Safe to believe in ultimate justice. Safe to believe in eternal bodies. Safe to believe in heaven as our estate and the earth as its porch. Safe to believe in a time when questions won’t keep us awake, and pain won’t keep us down. Safe to believe in open graves and endless days and genuine praise.

Because we can accept the resurrection story, it is safe to accept the rest of the story.

by Max Lucado
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://www.maxlucado.com/about/

The post Safe to Believe appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Friends phoned to say that there was a cat up a tree crying and that it had been there howling for two days. We quickly drove over to check it out. As soon as we got out of the car we could hear it howling. We ran over to the tree and looked up but we couldn’t see it. It was at least thirty feet up in a branchy old cedar tree. Somehow this cat had gotten up the tree and wasn’t coming down. We would call and it would howl but it wasn’t moving. To my amazement my wife decided to climb up the tree to try and find it in the branches. Without a thought to her own safety, or what she might find, she struggled her way up the tree and discovered a frightened little kitten clinging to a branch. Just as amazing was to see my wife climbing down the tree with the kitten on her shoulder snuggled against her neck.  It was totally relaxed. The kitten didn’t fight, scratch or holler. It just lay there. Safe! Rescued!

We too have a rescuer who will rescue us if we cry out… His name is Jesus!

My prayer for you this week: “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!” Amen. Daniel 3:28

Have a great week

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2009/07/06/an_rescuer/

The post Rescuer appeared first on Thoughts About God.