Jesus welcomed the people, taught them about the Kingdom of God and healed those in need. Luke 9:11

Seeds of the Kingdom

Words of Reassurance

by Gemma Gardner

The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble;  he knows those who take refuge in him.
Nahum 1:7, ESV

Every morning I receive an email with a verse of Scripture. One day last week the above verse popped into my inbox on my phone, and it was such a blessing to me that I felt I must pass on my thoughts. I kept thinking about it as I went through that day.

‘The LORD is good.’  Do I truly believe that? When I was going through tough times in the past, I sometimes doubted it. It’s easy to say God is good when things are going okay, but when things are going badly and we are feeling God is far away, that’s when we need to believe and resist the insinuations of the devil. But if we hold on to this Bible truth when things are tough, just like Job did when he lost everything, then it will bring comfort and stability to our hearts.

God is ‘a stronghold in the day of trouble.’  I once heard a preacher say, “You are either going through a storm, coming out of one, or about to enter one”. When David was on the run from King Saul, he often had to hide in caves, which were called strongholds. God is a stronghold we can run into and hide in when the storms of life hit. But in another sense, God has a strong hold on us. In John 10:28-30, Jesus said, “No one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”  I find that is a good thing to think about when I’m feeling a bit wobbly and weak.

The last part of our verse says, the LORD ‘knows those who take refuge in him.’  It is so amazing that God knows each child of His intimately. He is fully aware when we are in any sort of pain or trouble, in John 10:3, Jesus said, “The sheep hear (the Good Shepherd’s) voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out”.  If you have received the Lord Jesus into your heart and have trusted in His sacrificial death for you, then you are His sheep. He called you by name to come to Him. e knows you, and He is going before you to lead you out into all He has planned for you.

Gemma Gardner lives in Norfolk with her husband, Dean, who until recently worked at Ellel Grange. They are both part of the Associate Ministry team which Gemma joined after completing the Modular school. Gemma has experienced the Lord`s healing and restoration over many years and longs to see Him healing other broken people. Gemma loves listening to music, cooking, knitting and crochet as well as outdoor exercise. She enjoys playing guitar and singing worship songs.

 

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