Day 2 of being on our little getaway here at the Salish Lodge. We have literally spent the entire day sitting in two chairs next to a Christmas tree talking, and talking, and talking. Here in the last 4 hours, we have been getting a better handle on how we as a husband/wife and mother/father want to be better at coming alongside our kiddos as well as what God has for us in ministry. Amazing what can happen when you set aside some time to be open to the Lord’s calling on your marriage and bending an ear to the will and purposes of the One Who created the heavens and the earth.
He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:10-11 [ESV]
Following on from the QT yesterday where Paul is talking about the despair he and his companions endured on their travels in Asia; now we see how Paul enlists the prayer of the saints in Corinth in anticipatory ‘thanks’ for the deliverance, God will indeed send. This is the hope that we need in this world today. We know that God has the power to do 2 things..1) He has the power to remove us from the painful situations we find ourselves in, or 2) give us the comfort & strength we need to patiently endure them.
Application:
I need to have confidence that God will deliver me from my pain and suffering. I need to consistently focus on the hope that is not only in the power of His Right Hand but also in the saving hope I have in His Son Jesus Christ in an eternity secured on His behalf. If I maintain a mindset that wholeheartedly believes this, I can endure anything!