Quite timely...

Today, I had to write a paper for an Old Testament Survey assignment.
Little did I know, that it was an appointed time for the Holy Spirit to speak to me when I needed it most, along with the encouraging words of two of my closest friends - Hannah and Jake.
I felt I should share...
This is my paper:

Brittany Curry

Nahum 1:7

  The Amplified bible puts this verse very beautifully. It says, “The Lord is good, a Strength and Stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows (recognizes, has knowledge of, and understands) those who take refuge and trust in Him.”  Upon reading this verse for the assignment, I was actually taken aback some.  For me, this verse is very timely.  I looked at it at the exact moment of my need for God to speak comfort to me.  Exactly that has been happening all morning.

  Most christians, at least those who have been around for about a year or so I would assume, know the saying, “God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good,”  I have lost count on how many times I have proclaimed those words aloud along with a group of fellow believers.  Yet I can confidently say that most of those times, as I have repeated them almost robotically, that my heart had a hard time believing them as my head did.

  This whole ordeal reminds me of another passage of scripture in none other than the book of Lamentations.  That book is filled with, quite obviously, loads of lamenting.  Honestly, it can be a little depressing to read.  I was also reading that book today - in a time I felt a lament in my own spirit.  You can say that I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be wading through it.  As I read though, something struck me.  In the very middle of all this lament, (literally, in the middle), was this cluster of verses of complete comfort and hope.  The verses are found in chapter 3, verses 21 through 32.  This is what they read - “This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for man to bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God has laid it on him; let him put his mouth in the dust - there may yet be hope. Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, and be full of reproach. For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.”

  God understands us deeply and wholly. Even when we are going through trial, He is our strength, our comfort, and our solidness to grasp onto in distress. Sometimes, hardship is meant for our blessing rather than our cursing. We have to choose to let it be a time to learn to be more dependent on God and be independent of ourselves. To be independent is to be foolish.  Psalm 1:6 says, “For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).  Do not think that God does not know what you are going through because if you’re serving Him, He is well acquainted with the in’s and out’s of your life. God knows our hearts and our thoughts, our pains and our griefs. We are God’s sheep and He is our Shepherd - we know His voice and He knows ours.

  I choose to allow my spirit to take comfort in knowing who my God is and what He thinks about me. I choose to rest in His grace knowing that He is preparing me for what is ahead so that I may more fully and capably do what He has for me to do. I know that His promises are for me and that this time is the race set before me to take hold of those promises. “Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4 Amp.) There is purpose in the pain and affliciton. There is joy and satisfaction in the steadfast spirit of those who persevere, confidently assured and rightfully responding to the grace and call of Jesus.