This post is part of the series His Encouragement
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A warm welcome, dearest friends, to His Encouragement: Biblical Inspiration for Your Thursday. Every Thursday, a small group of bloggers will each bring you a Bible verse and a little discussion filled with hope and encouragement. We welcome you to join the conversation by commenting with your daily verse as well.
We pray that these Thursday posts help you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you. God bless!
Today’s Thursday Encouragement
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:19, ESV
Last week, I confessed to struggling with turning my burdens and worries over to the Lord during times of high stress. I would venture to say that a lot of us wrestle with the inclination to try to do it all ourselves, forgetting that we need to surrender it all to our Lord.
Well, when the circumstances of life seem especially difficult, it often happens that our focus begins to shift. That narrowed concentration on the negatives will influence our attitude, our behavior, and even our normal thinking patterns until we only see the rain clouds.
We may even start to exaggerate our circumstances by using broad-sweeping generalizations, harboring thoughts like “Everything is going wrong right now.” or “I cannot do anything right!” or “I can never…” or “Why me? Why now?”
We are like Peter, who began to sink beneath the waves when he removed his eyes from Jesus. He was filled with terror at the sight of the wind and waves all around him. Why? Because he had allowed his focus, though not consciously, to be drawn away from what was most important: the Lord. He desperately cried out: “Lord, save me!” And Jesus, in His love and mercy, did just that with a very gentle rebuke: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (See Matthew 14:19-31.)
Why did you doubt? This is what Jesus asks you and I today. Why do I doubt that the Lord has my life and situation under control? Why do I take so long before asking the Lord for His help and guidance? Why do I try to fix things on my own? Why do I continually treat prayer as a last resort instead of the first (and only) option?
No matter what circumstances you are facing, what worries are bogging you down, or how overwhelmed you may be feeling, today’s verse is gentle reminder that we need to keep our focus on the Lord. Even in the midst of the biggest, darkest storms of life, our Lord is right there with us.
We need to know that “…God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Instead of focusing on the wind and waves battering your life, focus on the blessings He has given to you, whether big or small.
When I begin to really stress out, the Lord often brings to my mind a song that Bing Cosby sang in the old movie White Christmas (1954) called “Count Your Blessings.” (Listen to it.) The simple words of this song are very humbling and remind me to count my blessings, giving thanks to the Lord for each and every one.
When I am thanking the Lord for every blessing, I realize how many more blessings there are in my life than trials. The wind dies down, the waves calm, and the rain clouds dissipate.
Now it is your turn! What Bible verse is getting you through your day today?
Be sure to also visit my fellow bloggers and read their encouragement for your Thursday:
Continue reading this series:
His Encouragement: John 1:14 & 16
Beautiful verse today! Excellent post. I especially love your reference to Peter sinking below the waves when he took his eyes off Jesus. I can relate to Peter so much sometimes. 😊
Thanks, Nicole! Sometimes I think: “Peter, how could you lose focus when Jesus was standing right in front of you! Close enough to grab you and pull you up when you began to sink.” And then I realize that I do the exact same thing in my own life — over and over again! Praise the Lord for His longsuffering patience with me.
What a great reminder to keep our eyes on Jesus! Thank you
You’re welcome! God bless!