April 1 Devotion - The Tribulations of Life

 

“…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

فَإِنَّكُمْ فِي الْعَالَمِ سَتُقَاسُونَ الضِّيقَ. وَلكِنْ تَشَجَّعُوا، فَأَنَا قَدِ انْتَصَرْتُ عَلَى الْعَالَمِ!»

^{John 16:33}

Tribulations cause anxiety and sorrow and can lead to depression. When we experience tribulation in our lives we  need to turn to the one who has overcome the world. This sounds easier said than done. However practice makes perfect, and as we learn to turn to Jesus in the face of anxiety and sorrow in the little things we begin to develop our dependence muscles.

These days we are experiencing a tribulation as we have never seen before due to the spreading deadly corona virus or Covid-19. I believe the stronger the tribulation the stronger our need for Jesus in our lives.

Learning that ‘Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow…but empties today of its strength’ (Charles Spurgeon) helps us realize that anxiety distracts the mind from communion with God. The Apostle Paul teaches us to:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

لا تهتموا بشيء بل في كل شيء بالصلاة والدعاء مع الشكر لتعلم طلباتكم لدى الله.

وسلام الله الذي يفوق كل عقل يحفظ قلوبكم وافكاركم في المسيح يسوع

 Philippians 4:6-7

The word ‘nothing’ means it excludes any reason. No reason is exempt and we are not allowed to worry about anything. This means that we are to pray about ‘everything’. Through thankful prayer we can declare to God our anxious thoughts and have faith that He will fill our hearts and mind with His peace when we leave our anxieties at The Cross.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, please grant me out of the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through Your Spirit in my inner self, indwelling my innermost being and personality so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith, and I never feel anxious and be always thankful. I pray that Your peace which surpasses all comprehension, will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Father God, thank You for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Lord, You know exactly where I am emotionally, mentally and spiritually and I know as per Jesus’ promise that You will comfort me. Father, I believe that sometimes You do allow the pressures of life to build so that I can learn to deal with them from a position of faith and not from a position of fear. Thank You for not condemning me for my fear, and for providing wisdom for all I face. Abba God, I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son; my Redeemer and Saviour; the Lord of my life, Jesus Christ. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion before all time and now and forevermore. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein