Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. – Psalm 62:8
When life is good, and all is well, it is easy to trust in God. Especially for people of faith, to know that God has us in his arms, is taking care of us, and to know God’s blessings. It’s easy to trust in God when all is well. However, there are plenty of times in life when everything is not all well. When we are shaken, or full of worry and even doubt.
How do we maintain trust in such times?
For me, there is a line in an old hymn that kind of hope, it’s the second verse of the hymn Come, Thou fount of Every Blessing. The line says: “Here I raise my Ebeneezer / Hither by thy help I’ve come. And I hope by thy good pleasure / Safely to arrive at home.”
It may seem odd to think about that line giving hope, but there is a story. In the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 7 we learn what the name Ebeneezer means – “thus far the Lord has helped us.” Within this story we learn that even in times that aren’t seemingly so great, when we look back, see, and remember all the times that God has been with us, then we can be assured that if God has been with us through all that, then God is with us now, and will be with us through future trials.
Time and again, we can look back and see the ebeneezers that have been erected of which we knew God was with us, and with God’s people, why should God abandon us now, especially since we know that God will never leave nor forsake us. It’s a reminder that even when we are shaken, when life gets troubling, or troublesome; even when we don’t think we can go on. God is there, as God has always been, holding us, encouraging us, uplifting us, and carrying us through the trails of life on our journey home.
We all wish life could be joyful at all times, but Scripture teaches us to even sing praise in the midst of sorrow for God is still with us, whipping tears, mending hearts, and helping us onward and upward towards the divine kingdom.
May we all be uplifted, and remember God is with us today and always. Amen.
Grace & Peace,
Sam