Tough Days – we all have them. On a scale of 1-to-10 some are a 5 or 6, difficult and uncomfortable – but manageable. But others are so bad that they’re way off the scale. Today we’ll talk about how to get through those.
Everybody recognizes that Ludwig van Beethoven was a musical genius. But few realize the adversity he had to overcome to achieve greatness. In his twenties, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. Because he couldn’t feel the music as he once had, on one occasion he said his fingers became “thick.” His hearing problems haunted him into the middle years of his life, but he kept it a guarded secret. By the time he reached his fifties, Beethoven was completely deaf. But he refused to give up. He was once overheard shouting at the top of his voice, “I will take life by the throat!”
There are some days when we need to take life by the throat. How can we get through the toughest things in our lives? By living the four steps contained in today’s verse.
Today’s verse says LORD, BE GRACIOUS TO US. WE HAVE WAITED FOR YOU. BE OUR STRENGTH EVERY MORNING, AND OUR SALVATION IN TIMES OF TROUBLE.
LORD, BE GRACIOUS TO US
There’s much in life that is simply too much to handle on our own. Trying to face life alone is a sure and certain way to be overwhelmed. Asking God for His grace recognizes that fact, and turns to the place where the greatest help is made available. Part of the great blessing that God Himself gave Moses was a declaration of the graciousness of God Almighty. We need God’s grace when the ocean of our life is calm and still, and we need it when the waves appear ready to swamp us. Whatever the circumstance we can draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. When we are at the end of our rope, He gives more grace. His grace is our strength. His grace sustains us day by day.
It is available to all who will ask God for it, but we must ask.
WE HAVE WAITED FOR YOU
Waiting for God can be a difficult challenge of faith. We look at the situation we’re facing and feel like if we wait another minute it will be too late. But God truly is in control, and He is well capable of either stepping in and handling our lives in ways we could not anticipate, or of directing us in the right way at the best time. Waiting for God, stopping to listen for His voice and His direction, that develops the trust we need for the next step. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the one who seeks Him. There are blessings you will miss by rushing ahead, even additional problems you can cause by doing so.
Sometimes, the Lord waits for you to wait for Him. The Lord waits for you to come to Him, and He rises up to show you His compassion. The Lord is a God of justice; He blesses everyone who waits for Him.
BE OUR STRENGTH EVERY MORNING
You and I need air every day. There’s never been a day since the one you were born when you didn’t. Breathing is the essence of our physical life. The morning you don’t get up and take a breath is the morning you don’t actually get up. You’re done.
You and I also need time with God every day. We need His strength to thrive, to accomplish the tasks that He has created for us on that day.
Sometimes people think they’re too busy to spend time with God each morning … until they start doing it. King David knew the strength that comes from making time for God at the beginning of his day. He wrote, “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” He would rise before dawn and pray for God’s strength to face the day. Even Jesus would rise very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He’d find a place of solitude, and there He’d pray.
OUR SALVATION IN TIMES OF TROUBLE
All of these steps bring us into God’s presence before we go out into the world to face it’s battles. The interesting thing about walking in faith is that we don’t need to LEAVE God’s presence to ENTER the world and live a God-directed life. The Lord is a good stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows how to help those who take refuge in Him. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
So if you had a tough day yesterday, how can you face today with new strength? Or, in other words, how can you grab life by the throat when it’s trying to grab yours?
Ask God for grace. You’re not going to win on your own.
Wait for Him to answer, to direct or provide.
Begin each morning with Him.
Trust Him.
