Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman singing … His Strength Is Perfect … powerfully singing of the strength and joy we get from our relationship with Jesus, especially when the road of life takes a challenging or threatening turn.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Habakkuk 3:19 [NLT] … 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
… We get our joy and strength from our trust and hope in the Lord, not from our circumstances.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Habakkuk 3:16-19 [NLT]… USE THIS LINK …
… In spite of turmoil and invasion, Habakkuk learns to trust God and put all his hope in the Lord.
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Reference Passage : … Isaiah 41:10 [NLT] … 10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
… God, thru Isaiah, promises to lift us up when we are threatened.
Reference Passage : … Romans 8:28, 31 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul teaches what he had learned … that our strength comes from Christ, no matter how weak we might feel in threatening circumstances.
Reference Passage : … 1 Corinthians 10:13 [NLT] … 13 The temptations [also translated “trials, tribulations, tests, or troubles”] in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.
… Our God is always there to light the way when the road gets too difficult for us (see photo).
Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:11-13 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul had learned, as we should, to be content and have joy - no matter what the circumstances.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Lisa Samra, uses a reference to a classic allegory to teach on the strength we get from Christ in trials. “Hinds Feet on High Places,” a classic allegory of the Christian life, is based on Habakkuk 3:19. The story follows the character “Much-Afraid’ as she goes on a journey with the “Shepherd.” But Much-Afraid is scared so she asks the Shepherd to carry her.
The Shepherd kindly replies, “I could carry you all the way up to the High Places myself, instead of leaving you to climb there. But if I did, you would never be able to develop hinds’ feet, and become my companion and go where I go.”
And then the ODB author refers to Habakkuk’s dramatic transformation from fear to faith as he learns to trust in God in the face of threats of loss and sorrow. The Prophet, prophesying in Judah during threat of invasion from Babylon, came to God (in chapter 1 of his poetic journal) confused and afraid; but by Chapter 3, God helped Him see that He, the Lord, was in control and would watch over His faithful remnant of believers - NO MATTER WHAT!
I’m convicted to realize, what the Apostle Paul learned and taught (see passages from Romans and Philippians) … that we will always have hope in Christ and that our strength comes from the Lord, no matter our circumstances. So, we need to seek the faith and trust that stalwart believers, like Habakkuk, Isaiah, and Paul (see Scriptures above) had; and in that trust let God’s strength lift us up when the road takes a threatening and fearful turn as it seems to be doing in our times now.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your strength in the face of our weakness [hear today’s linked song].
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, You give all who read here, including yours truly, the strength to cover our weakness when the road of life gets too challenging for us. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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