Thank you for your continued faithfulness and commitment to EMIC. Pastor Terri and I love you and pray for you every day, believing God’s blessings over you as you seek Him first in everything you do. You are truly blessed beyond measure and positioned by God to live in His overflow. We expect this to be your greatest year ever!
In the midst of the elections, COVID, “Snowvid” and everything else that has been going on in our lives, I am so grateful for the sustaining power of God’s WORD.
At one point during our week of freezing weather, I had become discouraged. The power had been out at our house from early Monday morning until Saturday morning. Everything was taking longer than usual to be restored. Boiling the water, keeping the fireplace going, having to carry buckets of water into the bathroom— as you are aware. The list went on and on.
Around Thursday, my attitude began to become a little sour. Fortunately, I knew exactly what to do. I grabbed my Bible, sat down and began to feed on God’s WORD.
The LORD led me to Psalm 34:19: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but The LORD delivereth him out of them all.” I sat there and meditated on that one verse for a long time. I thought, No matter what kind of pressures we face, The LORD delivers us out of them ALL!
I then read the entire chapter. It helped me get on a strong faith track.
Verses 1-4 declare, “I will bless The LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in The LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify The LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought The LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from ALL my fears” (emphasis mine).
I began to obey this scripture by allowing the praises of God to flow through my mouth. Fear of the future began to dissolve and the lighter I became.
Of course I became lighter! As a result of verses 1-4, verse 5 says, “They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.”
Look at verses 6-10: “This poor man cried, and The LORD heard him, and saved him out of ALL his troubles (emphasis mine). The angel of The LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that The LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear The LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek The LORD shall not want any good thing.”
The LORD has delivered me from ALL my fears and ALL my troubles and ALL my lack. Praise God!
Verses 15-17 reveal that “the eyes of The LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of The LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and The LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of ALL their troubles” (emphasis mine).
By this time, I was totally rejoicing in The LORD. I took notice that “delivered them out of ALL THEIR TROUBLES” is written twice in this Psalm (emphasis mine). My heavenly Father is SERIOUS when it comes to delivering us out of ALL that tries to trouble us.
Verse 22 says, “The LORD redeemed the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.”
This was a perfect scripture for what we were experiencing that week.
“To be desolate is “to be without warmth, comfort or hope.” WOW! Warmth, comfort and hope were exactly what I needed. Another definition for desolate is “to have the feeling of abandonment.” So many during that week felt abandoned.
Well, praise God, we are NOT abandoned. We are NOT helpless. We are NOT comfortless. We are NOT without hope. The LORD God Himself has delivered us out of ALL our fears, ALL our troubles and ALL our afflictions.
In all these things—these fears, troubles and afflictions—we are MORE than conquerors through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37).
Everything is going to be ALL RIGHT!
Pastor George Pearsons
