Deflect Despair
[God] gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
— 1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV
There is a story about Martin Luther going through a period of discouragement and depression. For days his long face graced the family table and dampened the family’s home life. One day his wife came to the breakfast table all dressed in black, as if she were going to a funeral service. When Martin asked her who had died, she replied, “Martin, the way you’ve been behaving lately, I thought God had died, so I came prepared to attend His funeral.”
Her gentle but effective rebuke drove straight to Luther’s heart, and as a result the great Reformer resolved never again to allow worldly care, resentment, depression, discouragement, or frustration to defeat him. By God’s grace, he vowed, he would submit his life to the Savior and reflect His grace in a spirit of rejoicing, whatever came.
When was the last time you praised God in the midst of despair?
Don’t wait until you “feel like it,” or you’ll never do it. Do it, and then you’ll feel like it!
Hope for Today
There is one certainty regarding every trial you will ever face: God is still in control. You haven’t encountered the one problem He can’t fix. Seas still part and mountains still crumble at His command.
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The Answer to Fear
Do not be afraid. — Matthew 28:10
Months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, psychiatrists reported that people who lived thousands of miles away from those tragic events were still coming to them, unable to sleep and paralyzed by fear. We live in a world shaken by fear, apprehension, and anxiety.
What is the answer to this stifling fear? After Jesus had been put to death, His disciples huddled in fear behind closed doors, filled with uncertainty and despair. But suddenly they found themselves in the presence of their living Lord, and at His first words their fears disappeared:
Peace to you. — Luke 24:36
The answer to our individual fears is found in a personal faith in the living, glorified Lord.
And the answer to collective fear is a corporate faith in the living, glorified Lord. The answer to national and international tensions and fears is for the world to know Him who is alive forevermore. We do not worship a dead Christ. We worship a risen Christ, who has broken the power of sin and death and hell and is alive forevermore. Why then should we fear?
Hope for Today
Uncertainty breeds fear, and the world is an uncertain place. Focus, instead, on the steadfast Savior, who ever lives and ever reigns. There is nothing to fear when our faith is in the One who controls it all.
Excerpted with permission from Hope for Each Day by Billy Graham, copyright Billy Graham.
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Your Turn
Fear, worry, depression, sadness, discouragement, resentment… are all normal parts of life on Planet Earth. But, for the Christian, we have hope beyond our circumstances and peace beyond logic. We have the peace of Jesus! He is in command of it all. Come share your thoughts with us on our blog. We want to hear from you! ~Devotionals Daily
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