Blessed are those...
whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them... he remains faithful forever.
Psalm 146:5-6 NIV

We walk a fine balance...
between trusting man and trusting God. I mean, we can speak the words, ‘we trust in God,’ but then why do we follow other people’s action’s, thinking maybe they are an example God put before us on purpose. So that our focus on them becomes a distraction.

Like what if we have an illness or injury. We pray over it and ‘trust God’ for healing, But then we must have the BEST medical professional with all the answers to treat the symptoms. If we put that doctor too high on a pedestal, they will can come crashing down fast when the treatment we are prescribed fails. Then what? We blame them for our problems and forget about the prayers prayed to ‘trust God?’

And heaven forbid...
a friend betray our trust one too many times. We may just write off all close relationships, building high walls so that no one can enter in the safe space near our wounded heart. Our stiff arm can get frozen like that if we hold it out too long, even keeping God away.

Let us rather...
bend the elbow, bend the knees, bowing down before the Lord as we look to Him for all our hope and expectation. For if He is truly our Maker, wouldn't He know the inside of us as well as the out? Wouldn't He have the key to our heart... our best interest and desire?

His plans are good...
and He is ever faithful to provide all we need; physical, emotional and spiritual. No other human could possibly do that!

Will you trust Him today?
It only takes one word... HELP. Speak it out loud to God in prayer. He knows your hopes and dreams like no other person can. He is the answer to all your expectations.

Waiting can be hard.

No matter whether we are waiting in traffic, waiting at the doctor, waiting in line for coffee or waiting on an answer to prayer... waiting will always require something of us.

But what if the wait...
wasn't so specific? What if we didn't always set our expectations on the here and now? The Psalmist is encouraging us to wait on the Lord... to put our hope in His word. And that's a unique and completely different realm... passing into unseen territory which we often fear. But what if we chose to get excited about it?

Listen to the eagerness in the Psalmist's voice as he writes out his thoughts on parchment... no fancy fonts, no underline or bold to apply with his laptop. So in order to emphasize the anticipation of his heart, he repeats himself, instead...
My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning...
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning

These watchmen he refers to were eager to get off duty. They'd been up all night, on the lookout as everyone else slept. They were eager for the light of dawn to signal that they could let their guard down and someone else would take over. 

What if we were watchmen...
alert and ready for the dawn; eager for the Lord to answer our prayer so we too could begin something new, and possibly see the light of change in our lives? Let us not  live in fear or worry of the night, but rather be more like children who eagerly awaits  new chances to play... waiting for the sun to arise on a new day... light hearted and hopeful; eager and expectant to see what the Lord will do.

What will you watch for today?

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains...
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip...
    He who watches over you
    will not slumber;
4 indeed, He who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you...
    the Lord is your shade
​    at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm...
    He will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over
your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121 NIV

The arrogant
dig pits to trap me,
contrary to your law.
All your commands
are trustworthy;
help me,
for I am being persecuted
without cause.
Psalm 119:85 - 86 NIV

Never before...
had I considered myself one to have enemies. I mean I'm not a terribly controversial figure who stirs up trouble or seeks out conflict. So why should I fear falling into the pit of an adversary?

But then I realized...
this is not a human foe. This is that whispering liar who'd love for us to think he doesn't exist. The one who specializes in pride. The one who began as a most beautiful angel but got tossed out of heaven for wanting to be a god himself. So what does one do after losing the security of home in the beauty and perfection of heaven?

He get's back at God...
by messiing and meddling with His creation... that's you and me. He sets traps, digs pits, tangles words and circumstances to trip us up. And so begins the daily battle.

If He can't have your soul...
because you trusted it to Jesus, then he'll settle for stealing your joy. The Psalmist tells us that he persecutes us without cause. No, you may never have done anything to deserve this rough treatment from the devil, but that doesn't matter. He's an equal opportunity discourager... taunting anyone who pursues God and seeks to glorify Him.

So why do we try?
Because God wins in the end. God is bigger and greater than this enemy who seeks to defeat us. And God has given us His word to guide us and help us overcome the arrogant. The Psalmist tells us that God's word is eternal, boundless, delightful, sweet, valuable, treasured, wonderful and right.

The unfolding of Your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:130 NIV

​What will you gather from it today?

The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation
is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
Psalm 118:14 - 16 NIV

When I am weak...

the Lord is my strength. It's easy to say, but oh so hard to put into practice. Probably  because I'd rather just wallow in my weakness. It's a comfortable place where I'm not stretched or challenged. Don't you know it hurts to get stronger?

That's why I love Jesus so much.

Because He came in the form of a human... just like us. He gave up all the power of heaven and made himself weak. How hard would that be? Sheesh! I wouldn't want to do it. 

But He did it for love.

For the love of all of us. Those who recognize Him as God and those who don't. He lived and died for every human past, present and future... even the one's who deny Him. And then He sat down in Heaven to wait for us at the right hand of God the Father.

Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Mar 26:64 NLT

Jesus IS the right hand of God.

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

How beautiful is that! Whether we believe in Him or not, He conquered sin, hell, death and the grave valiantly. AMAZING! And He did it all through suffering and pain. He experience the most horrific things of this world to save us eternally.

He won the biggest battle.

He is a Warrior extraordinaire! Oh, let us praise the Lord today. Oh, let us celebrate His victory, no matter what's going on in our life. Whatever it is, it cannot be so bad that it challenges the right hand of God. He has the power to overcome.

Praise Him and be glad!
Thank Him and rejoice!
For the Right Hand of God is valiant,
strengthening us and
saving us for all eternity!

What do you feel weak in today? 
​Comment below and I will pray for God to strengthen you!