Shalom,
Many of David's Psalms were written in times of great trouble. They give us the example of what he did to encourage himself in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6). Two key verses here are verse 16:
16As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord will save me.
And verse 22:
22Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).
Those are promises of God to believers in Jesus of Nazareth! Use them to encourage YOURSELF in the things of God when the going gets tougher for YOU!
In Acts 27:3 we see the centurion, Julius, treating Paul well:
3The following day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul in a loving way, with much consideration (kindness and care), permitting him to go to his friends [there] and be refreshed and be cared for.
I believe this good seed that he planted in walking in Love with Paul was what kept him safe later on! I also believe that if he would have listened to Paul in verses 9-11, they may never have had the weather problems they ended up having:
9But as [the season was well advanced, for] much time had been lost and navigation was already dangerous, for the time for the Fast [the Day of Atonement, about the beginning of October] had already gone by, Paul warned and advised them,
10Saying, Sirs, I perceive [after careful observation] that this voyage will be attended with disaster and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but of our lives also.
11However, the centurion paid greater attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
Again Paul hears from the Lord and relays a message for them from the Lord in verses 22-24:
22But [even] now I beg you to be in good spirits and take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you but only of the ship.
23For this [very] night there stood by my side an angel of the God to Whom I belong and Whom I serve and worship,
24And he said, Do not be frightened, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you all those who are sailing with you.
Is that what happened? Let's look ate verse 44:
44And the rest on heavy boards or pieces of the vessel. And so it was that all escaped safely to land.
He IS faithful Who has promised! AMEN!
I LOVE the promise to Israel found in Exodus 19:5-6:
5Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.
6And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated, set apart to the worship of God]. These are the words you shall speak to the Israelites.
Remember, as you continue to read about the Israelites in Exodus, that everything the Lord requires them to do is so that He can continue to bless them! That has always been His plan and always will be! See this in 3John2:
2Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.
He is the SAME yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8)! With Him is no shadow of turning! (James 1:17). The promises of God are ALL "YES" in Him and we say AMEN (2 Corinthians 1:20)!!!
Get to know the Word of God and you can have that awesome confidence that he WILL deliver you - ALWAYS!
Shalom in Him!
