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“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9 (NIV)

From time to time in our Christian walk we face situations where we feel helpless. By this, I mean we don’t feel we have the strength to do anything to fix the issue. It seems we have to live with it. But really we don’t because we have Jesus interceding before God on our behalf.

I recently made a visit to a hospital to see an elderly lady from our church. My visitation partner and I came away blessed by the dear lady’s spirit. She spoke with difficulty but one statement she made will always stay with me. “Someone’s always with me. My Jesus is right beside me.” Her words conveyed to me that she did not fear anything about her future because she knew her Lord would take care of her.

Before we left my visitation partner and I prayed for her and her family. Then she prayed for us. We were humbled. I heard later that week that her children were called in. This wonderful lady of God has demonstrated His presence in her life even at the time her days with her family are short.

We, who claim to walk with Jesus, are NOT helpless. We have Him to rely upon. Whatever the need or the issue, He will see us through.

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me:

thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies,

and thy right hand shall save me.” Psalm 138:7 (KJV)

In the early 1990's, a dear friend was very concerned about her youngest daughter. The girl, in her mid-20’s had joined the Army Reserve after being discharged from active duty. Right after she joined, she was activated and sent to Saudi Arabia. This issue caused concern for all who knew the family. 1.) This was a daughter. 2.) The memory of Vietnam came into play.

One day in particular, the mother cried out to God. He responded by reminding her of the many times He had been there for her and her family. I later read where past memories of His working were called benchmarks. Each time we seek God’s help with something going on in our lives, that is an item we store in our hearts and minds. When something we perceive as ghastly looms on our horizon, God brings those past events to our conscious minds and comforts us.

From time to time I hear of a circumstance in another person’s life. Their story may remind me of something similar that happened in mine. If it is appropriate to share the details, I try to. When circumstances are such that I can’t, I offer a prayer for them right then.

Some of the circumstances where I find myself feeling helpless have been major changes in our family’s life. The loss of my husband’s sister caused us a lot of pain. All I could do was ask God to do what was best for her. She walks the streets of heaven. When I had to put my dad in a nursing home, I HAD to do it. The specialist gave me no choice. My dad didn’t like what I had to do in order to keep him safe and reasonably healthy. We had to go before a hearing judge in order to resolve the issue. Basically, I lost. But my dad was safe and in the care of a nursing home until he died. I had to accept the fact that I could not visit him because, prior to that, he ignored me. God saw me through the time of Dad’s passing without any regrets or any reminder of my time of feeling helpless.

These are a few reasons that God is so wonderful to me.

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

Milque-Toast Prayers