God is our refuge and strength (His Encouragement)

A cheery and warm welcome, dearest friends, to His Encouragement: Biblical Inspiration for Your Thursday. Every Thursday, a few blogging friends and I will each bring you a Bible passage and a little hope-filled discussion. We pray that these Thursday posts help you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you. We also welcome you to join the conversation by commenting with your thoughts. God bless!

Today’s Encouragement

“God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.” — Psalm 46:1, ESV

Have you ever had those weeks where it seems everything happens all at once? Have you received bad news? Are you overwhelmed? No matter what you are facing right now, whatever your struggles are, remember two things:

1. It is okay to cry. Even just a casual reading through the Psalms show that crying is a way our hearts and minds help process difficulties. In Psalm 639:3, David wrote: “I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.”
2. Turn to God for help. But in our sorrow, confusion, depression, pain, etc. we should to be crying out to the Lord. Psalm 46:1, today’s verse of encouragement, says: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Throughout the Scriptures, we are encouraged to turn to the Lord in our times of need, and with His strength and might, we can do anything! (Philippians 4:13, Mark 10:27)

I have learned in my own experiences that the more I fixate on the problem, the more anxiety I feel until I become overwhelmed. However, if I “let go and let God” take over, everything falls into place. Perhaps not as quickly as I would like, perhaps not even in the way I would like, but the Lord always knows best. So even during my most difficult times, I am learning to trust in Him and His plan. And when I am not sure what His plan is, I praise the Lord for the blessings He provides in the midst of the storm.

Now it is your turn! How does today’s verse encourage you? What verse or passage is blessing you today?

Be sure to also visit my fellow bloggers and read their encouragement for your Thursday as well:

• Trisha of Joy of Reading
• Nicole of The Christian Fiction Girl
• Jessica of A Baker’s Perspective
• Becca of The Becca Files

Are you a blogger? If you would like to join us every Thursday, please contact Trisha or Nicole.