Christian Living

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Finding Comfort In Difficulty

Perhaps you will think to yourselves, 'How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?' (Deu 7:17, NLT)

Life can be overwhelming! Oftentimes, it seems larger than our resources can help us face, greater than our strength can handle, and more complex than we can figure out and plan for.

No wonder we give into hopelessness at times. But that's not how God wants us to see and approach life. He wants us to be equipped for it. He wants us to face life with confidence!

The question is how can we get there to be what God wants us to be?

Here are three of the ways God helps us get there:

1. Choose to be courageous (Deu. 7:18, NLT)! We choose to fear. Many of us think it is strange that “to fear” is a choice. It’s because we have given into our fear for so long that we can't remember it was a choice we once made.

God wants us to confront our fears. Fear is, as someone has put it, " False Evidence Appearing Real". So next time fear creeps in we need to recognise it for what it is and refuse to give in.

It works well when we say to ourselves, I am not going to be afraid, because God has said so. I choose not to fear.

2. Remember what God has done in the past (Deu. 7:18, NLT)! It's not enough to refuse to give into fear. We need to fill our hearts with confidence. We do that when we remember the great and wonderful things God has done for us.

The first striking thing that comes from such remembering is the understanding that God loves us and cares for us. That in itself is enough to cast out all the remaining fear that persists to creep in ( 1 John 4:18, NIV).

A friend of mine remembers God's work in his life by spending time writing down what God did in specific situation in the past. When he was praying for a new job, for example, he sat down and wrote how God gave him the job he had at the time. He recorded what happened step by step, people he met, the interview process, and how God intervened in each step until he finally received a phone call inviting him to work.

3. Believe he will do it again (Deu. 7:19c, NLT)! This will naturally happen if we have carefully remembered what God has done for us in the past. We will be able to believe that God who cared in the past will also care for our present need. We might need to make some effort here and there to refuse anything contrary to the truth that God cares. But if we ask God, he will help us with that , just as he helped the man who said, “help me overcome my unbelief! (Mark 9:24, NIV).


Then we will be able to sing with David J Hadden:

Burst into songs of joy together, O Jerusalem;
The Lord has comforted His people,
The redeemed Jerusalem.

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