Bible Bites - The Lord Knows - Psalm 37:18-19

The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; thy are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they will have abundance. - Psalm 37-18-19

There are times in our lives individually, nationally, and globally, where it seems like God is absent, or that He doesn't care, or that He's watching from afar, unknowing or uncaring. Right now, in America and around the world, many people are fearful and confused. Many have lost their jobs and hope seems frail. 

Hold on. We need to keep our faith and our hope in Him! God has given us so many great examples when times were dark and hope looked lost, He was with us, guiding us, and blessing us.

Here are just a few examples in the Bible that you may find strengthens your faith and revives your hope.

-Job lost everything, but he remained faithful to God and God restored him with a double portion of what was lost. -See the book of Job.

-Joseph was dropped in a well, sold as a slave, slandered and thrown in prison. God was with him throughout, sustaining him, blessing him, and at the right time, lifted him from the depths and set him high above all Egypt, next to Pharaoh. -See Genesis 37-50

-In the book of Exodus we see how God's people, though great, fell into slavery. God raised up Moses to deliver them, but when confronting Pharaoh, it seemed like God's people were on the losing end each and every time. Finally Pharaoh relented and God's people left with the treasures of Egypt. After all that, Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued them to the Red Sea where it certainly looked like all hope was lost. They were in an impossible situation. But God loves to do the impossible and opened up the Red Sea to deliver His people and swallow up Pharaoh's men. -Read about it in the book of Exodus

-God blessed a poor widow who was on the verge of losing everything, even her children to debt. The prophet Elisha told the widow to borrow as many empty vessels as she could and start pouring the single jar of oils she had left into them. The oil kept coming until all the jars were filled! She was able to pay her debts and use the rest of the money to live on! -Read about this in 2 Kings 4

-Under Persian rule, a plot was devised and approved that would have exterminated all the Jews throughout the empire. Through Queen Esther, God saved His people and Haman, who devised the plot was killed instead. -See the book of Esther

-In another evil plot, Daniel was thrown to the lion's den, all but assuring his death. However, God shut the mouths of the lions and to the amazement of all, Daniel was completely unharmed. -Read it in the book of Daniel.

-In the Gospel of John, we read about a man named Lazarus who became ill and died. He lay dead for 4 days before Jesus arrived and called him out of the grave and back to life! Talk about having lost ALL hope. The man was dead for 4 days! -Read John 11

We don't know how God will honor His Word, but we know that He ALWAYS does. The Lord knows our troubles and is working all things together for good. He promises us that we will not be put to shame in the days of evil, we will have abundance in times of famine, and we have a heritage that will last forever!

So, hold on to the Lord and all that He promises. Now is not the time to shrink back in fear. It is a time to stand boldly, faithfully proclaiming the gospel to all!

Let's pray:

Lord, we thank you that you are our faithful and loving father. You provide for us, you bless us, and your mercies are new with each day. We thank you for the promises we read about in Psalm 37:18-19 and for showing us throughout the Holy Bible how time and time again you show your promises to be true and your love to be greater than we can comprehend!
We pray Lord God, our Father, that you help us to continue to live boldly and faithfully, sure of your promises, even in the face of impossible odds. We know that with you Father, all things are possible.
We pray this in Jesus' mighty and faithful name. Amen! Thanks be to God most high!