praise god | Life Giving Words of Hope & Encouragement by Jeff Davis

Before I knew it, I was in a place I didn’t recognize, but I suddenly knew I wasn’t supposed to be there and had to escape at all costs.

“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.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

As soon as I became a follower of Christ, this promise applied to me. It didn’t matter where I went or what I did; God was always with me. I wish I knew then what I know now because being a rebel without a clue or cause led me down some very painful roads.

There are basically two paths in life:

The straight and narrow, which brings glory and honor to the Father and the path of destruction, a wrong turn spiraling downward to a place attempting to separate us from the eternal love of God.

Every choice we make in life is a fork in the road:

The good choices keep us on the righteous path, but the bad ones cause us to shift lanes until we take an exit leading to pain and torment. Our human nature and our moral reasoning are constantly at war with our character and integrity, while trying to meet the demands of reality. The deception comes when one small decision leads to another bad one and another until we arrive in a place we can’t get out of quick enough.

The amazing thing about our heavenly Father is all we have to do is call out His name and He will save us. Not only is He always with us, but He is also for us and each new day, He pours out enough strength, mercy and grace to walk through any adversity we might face. If you are lost, God is waiting for you to call out His name and He will save you. If you are on the righteous path, praise God, but always be on the lookout for those who are headed the wrong way and always remember where God has brought you from and the price He paid to do so.

Sometimes, it takes a wrong turn to put us back on course with God’s best for our life; what we must recognize is God’s grace is bigger than any of our faults or past failures and He has a plan and purpose for our lives! The more messed up we are, the more God can use us to reach the lost and hurting people who are stuck where we used to be.

II Corinthians 4:17, tells us: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Praise God our trials are only temporary and when we stand strong in our faith during these times of adversity, we are achieving eternal glory. When we look to and trust Jesus, we pass the test and blessings will flow. You see, our faith sets the course of our life and our attitude determines how much the boat is going to rock when the seas get rough. With Jesus on our side, all He has to say is, “Ocean, be still” and it will become smooth as glass and not a care in the world will bother us.

It is hard to imagine that Sydney is 6 days old, especially when you factor in that God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days. In the scope of things and the fact that a day to the Lord is like 1000 and 1000 days are like one! Knowing this, what we are walking through with Sydney is such a minute blip on the radar and in the scope of God’s master plan, it is a small part, but one in which He is accomplishing much in my life, Sydney’s and all the lives of the people who we are coming in contact with. I’ve found when I can relate to people who also have their children in the NICU, they feel less alone and want to know why I don’t. I explain that I can simply cast all my cares and concerns to Jesus. I tell them that children are a gift from God and that He forms and knits them together in their mother’s womb. In fact, I tell them, the kingdom of heaven belongs to the children and that God has set them apart.

I let them know that even in the face of fear, adversity, and disaster myself included, we must never give up. Even when on the outside it may look and feel like things are falling apart, on the inside God is making all things new by pouring His Spirit and blessings out. God makes new life by pouring out His mercy and grace that transcends all understanding. The hard times we walk through pale in comparison to the good times we have coming, since as followers of Christ and children of God, we will get to share in eternity with our heavenly Father. Things we are walking through now will be gone tomorrow, but the things we can’t see will last forever, so if you want to dwell on something, dwell on the thought of spending eternity with Christ and trust in Him whose mercy and grace are new every morning!