A Sea of Troubles

Psalm 130

¹From a sea of troubles I call out to you, LORD. 
²Won’t you please listen as I beg for mercy? 
³If you kept record of our sins, no one could last long. 
⁴But you forgive us, and so we will worship you. 

⁵With all my heart, I am waiting, LORD, for you! 
 I trust your promises. 
⁶I wait for you more eagerly 
 than a soldier on guard duty waits for the dawn. 
 Yes, I wait more eagerly 
 than a soldier on guard duty waits for the dawn. 

It’s not always smooth sailing out there. Hasn’t been for me lately. I know things are going to get better though, and the words in the verses above encouraged me today.

I hope they encourage you too.

Have a good day, friends.

A Place of Safety

Psalm 142:5

I pray to you, LORD! You are my place of safety, and you are my choice in the land of the living. Please answer my prayer. I am completely helpless.

What a gift we have in Jesus. A Savior who loves us, is merciful to us, and who provides us with a place of safety during our days spent here in this crazy world.

The last sentence of this verse is so true. I really am completely helpless without the LORD.

On the surface that sentence may look like it only applies to hard times or negative situations, but I interpret it differently. I realize the truth in those words more and more every day – on good days and not so good days. It’s a realization that humbles me on the good days and lifts me up on the not so good ones.

More than anything, I have found that trusting God keeps things balanced in life. I am so thankful for the peace that comes from every time He gives me the ability to acknowledge that I don’t have to carry all of life’s burdens. Granted, I’m guilty of not turning to God in every situation and guilty of trying to do it all sometimes (alright, a lot of times.) But the more I choose to believe and trust in what God promises, the better off I find myself to be.

It’s a work in progress…but the answer is always clear in the end. Now for the strength to be able to remember that my place of safety is always there.

In the past I would have considered stuff like this too personal to share. My attitude about that has (obviously) changed though, and I’d just like to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who have read all of this. Thanks for letting me share some of me with you.

What about you? Do you have a place of safety? Let’s talk about it. I’d love to hear from you. Click here https://positivelysecond.wordpress.com/feedback/ and send me a message, or just leave a comment below.

Have a great day everyone!

Shout Praises

Powerful stuff. Some of these verses are really meaningful to me. Perhaps there are a few that you can find meaning in as well. Have a good day everyone.

Psalm 107

¹Shout praises to the LORD!

   He is good to us,

   and his love never fails.

    ²Everyone the LORD has rescued

   from trouble

   should praise him,

    ³everyone he has brought

   from the east and the west,

   the north and the south.

⁴Some of you were lost

   in the scorching desert,

   far from a town.

    ⁵You were hungry and thirsty

   and about to give up.

    ⁶You were in serious trouble,

   but you prayed to the LORD,

   and he rescued you.

    ⁷Right away he brought you

   to a town.

    ⁸You should praise the LORD

   for his love

   and for the wonderful things

   he does for all of us.

    ⁹To everyone who is thirsty,

   he gives something to drink;

   to everyone who is hungry,

   he gives good things to eat.

    ¹⁰Some of you were prisoners

   suffering in deepest darkness

   and bound by chains,

    ¹¹because you had rebelled

   against God Most High

   and refused his advice.

    ¹²You were worn out

   from working like slaves,

   and no one came to help.

    ¹³You were in serious trouble,

   but you prayed to the LORD,

   and he rescued you.

    ¹⁴He brought you out

   of the deepest darkness

   and broke your chains.

    ¹⁵You should praise the LORD

   for his love

   and for the wonderful things

   he does for all of us.

    ¹⁶He breaks down bronze gates

   and shatters iron locks.

    ¹⁷Some of you had foolishly

   committed a lot of sins

   and were in terrible pain.

    ¹⁸The very thought of food

   was disgusting to you,

   and you were almost dead.

    ¹⁹You were in serious trouble,

   but you prayed to the LORD,

   and he rescued you.

    ²⁰By the power of his own word,

   he healed you

   and saved you

   from destruction.

    ²¹You should praise the LORD

   for his love

   and for the wonderful things

   he does for all of us.

    ²²You should celebrate

   by offering sacrifices

   and singing joyful songs

   to tell what he has done.

    ²³Some of you made a living

   by sailing the mighty sea,

    ²⁴and you saw the miracles

   the LORD performed there.

    ²⁵At his command a storm arose,

   and waves covered the sea.

    ²⁶You were tossed to the sky

   and to the ocean depths,

   until things looked so bad

   that you lost your courage.

    ²⁷You staggered like drunkards

   and gave up all hope.

    ²⁸You were in serious trouble,

   but you prayed to the LORD,

   and he rescued you.

    ²⁹He made the storm stop

   and the sea be quiet.

    ³⁰You were happy because of this,

   and he brought you to the port

   where you wanted to go.

    ³¹You should praise the LORD

   for his love

   and for the wonderful things

   he does for all of us.

    ³²Honor the LORD

   when you

   and your leaders

   meet to worship.

    ³³If you start doing wrong,

   the LORD will turn rivers

   into deserts,

    ³⁴flowing streams

   into scorched land,

   and fruitful fields

   into beds of salt.

    ³⁵But the LORD can also turn

   deserts into lakes

   and scorched land

   into flowing streams.

    ³⁶If you are hungry,

   you can settle there

   and build a town.

    ³⁷You can plant fields

   and vineyards

   that produce

   a good harvest.

    ³⁸The LORD will bless you

   with many children

   and with herds of cattle.

    ³⁹Sometimes you may be crushed

   by troubles and sorrows,

   until only a few of you

   are left to survive.

    ⁴⁰But the LORD will take revenge

   on those who conquer you,

   and he will make them wander

   across desert sands.

    ⁴¹When you are suffering

   and in need,

   he will come to your rescue,

   and your families will grow

   as fast as a herd of sheep.

    ⁴²You will see this because

   you obey the LORD,

   but everyone who is wicked

   will be silenced.

    ⁴³Be wise! Remember this

   and think about the kindness

   of the LORD.