Hope: an Anchor in Troubled Waters, part 3

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”--Psalm 56:3-4 (KJV)

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Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate my readers!!

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Please see my first two articles on hope here and here.

My brilliant sister, Roz, has kindly agreed to let me share part of a recent letter. She is a woman of great faith and optimism. Her message is one all of us can relate to at this time: God is greater than any “giants” we face.  

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Moses, an Old Testament prophet, was directed by God to bring the Israelite people away from the false gods of Egypt. Before He brought the people out, God showed the Israelites that He was more powerful than the Egyptian magic by bringing 10 plagues upon the Egyptians while protecting the Israelites from those plagues. Moses then led the Israelites out of Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea (baptism).

BELIEVE THAT GOD IS ALL POWERFUL...MORE POWERFUL THAN THE WORLD.

Israel is not a 40 year journey from Egypt, but God required His people to travel through the wilderness for 40 years to cleanse the false gods of Egypt from their minds. At the first part of the journey, Moses sent a scouting party of 12 men to survey the promised land. Ten of the twelve returned saying the land was full of giants and they could not enter. The other two men said Canaan was a land of plenty and God would help them.

The people feared, believed the ten discouraging accounts, and the Israelites were not allowed to enter the Promised Land until the doubters from that generation had died. Instead, they wandered in the Sinai desert for another 40 years. God would have helped them get there sooner; they just didn’t have the faith that He could help them defeat the “giants.”

GOD’S WAY IS NOT EASY. IT NECESSARILY LEADS THROUGH WILDERNESSES. BUT HE WILL DEFEAT YOUR GIANTS AND HELP YOU GET THERE FASTER.

GOD GIVES US FREE AGENCY. HE WANTS US TO LOVE RATHER THAN TO FEAR.

The world is full of deserts, dry spots. We all go through them. We learn from the hardships we conquer. We get through them much more quickly if we can rely on the love and direction provided by Jesus Christ. If we follow the commandments He gives us, we will reach the promised land…much more quickly. But if we believe the world’s reports of giants that cannot be defeated, we must continue in the wilderness until we learn to rely on the Lord and have faith that He will save us.

GET OUT OF THE DESERT. LEARN TO RELY ON THE LORD TO DEFEAT GIANTS.

He will give us the instruments to defeat our giants. He will help us reach the Promised Land, but we must follow Him. We must believe. We must work to achieve eternal life. Or we will receive the lesser gift, what we are willing to receive.

My Conclusion

“Don’t put God in a box. He can do everything. In Biblical times, they weren’t afraid to expect, and ask for, huge miracles.” –Quote from my son

“Those people didn’t ask for one-time handouts. They asked for complete healing—and that’s what they got.”—Quote from me.

Do you believe God is “bigger” than your (our) giants?