People who have walked with God for many years can often point to times when Scripture has been especially precious to them. It is almost always during a time of bitter circumstances that the sweetness of God’s Word is especially evident. God gives us His Word to provide hope and comfort in the midst of a sin cursed world. often when I find myself struggling in the midst of my circumstances, I turn to the Psalms to find my hope and perspective. The Word of God in the Psalms were written by people who are struggling with the circumstances of their lives. The emotions that come through the Psalms often remind me of the emotions that I am currently struggling through. The hard part is to turn to them and begin reading, or turn to an app and allow the Psalms to be read to me. I am reminded that in Ephesians 5:18 that we are to learn to “walk in the Spirit.” We are reminded in verse 19 that “walking in the Spirit” is manifested by speaking to ourselves in “Psalms, hymns, and Spiritual songs.” If you find yourselves overwhelmed with your circumstances, I would encourage you to turn … READ MORE

Being honest and open about the bitter aspects of this life has a way of quickly bringing us to the end of ourselves. That can be a good thing if we will then admit our inability to handle life on our own and turn to Christ in repentance and faith. But the problem is that many of us don’t know how to do this. According to psalm 51:10 we are encouraged to take time to reflect on our lives and see the work that God is doing in our heart to conform us into the image of His Son. Self-reflection can be incredibly convicting. The reminder of where bitterness starts can cause us to ask penetrating questions about the impact we are having on the people around us. Bitter circumstances do not happen because we are sinners, bitter circumstances come upon us because we live in a sin cursed world. Our self-reflection, enables us to understand that circumstances are permitted by the Lord in order to allow us to see what we have learned in our journey through this life. What is important is not what we have accumulated, or what it is that we think we may be losing … READ MORE

While grumbling and complaining will lead to sinful bitterness, so will ignoring the hurt, by suffering in silence, or affixing a plastic smile to a broke heart. In Psalm 39 we see that David did not want those who did not know the Lord to misunderstand and possibly twist his words and justify all sorts of sinful behaviors, but that does not mean that David suffers in silence. He takes his grief and pain before the Lord and reveals his heart in verses 3-8. He acknowledges that “His hope is in the Lord” in verse 7, and lays the matter before Him. The key to navigating through the wrong extremes when responding to trials is to recognize and remember that God has a purpose. If we lack the wisdom to understand our trials we need to come before God, to gain understanding, not to accuse Him of being unfair, but to understand and see the plan of God in allowing these things to enter into our lives. God then brings people along in our lives to help us bear our burden. others cannot carry the burden for us, but they can come alongside of us and support us in the … READ MORE