Psalm 27:13-14 ~ I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord.

While helping my daughter with English today, we read an excerpt of “Doubting Castle” from Pilgrim’s Progress.  Christian and Hopeful have lost their way. They find themselves as prisoners of Giant Despair. This brings Christian deep sorrow as he realizes that his hasty decisions have brought on this extreme stress.

Christian and Hopeful become quite miserable and scared for their lives.  Thankfully, Hopeful reminded Christian of the Laws of the Lord and instead of following Giant Despair’s command they chose to pray through the night.

At the break of day, Christian, as if guided by the Holy Spirit, remembered the Promise which helped him to conquer the doubting castle and they were able to escape.

This got me to thinking about life.

Often times in life we may act in haste when a situation arises.  This choice usually causes undue sorrow and distress.  In turn, it leads us down the road of despair.

If only we would more often stop to pray first before we act.  We would save ourselves much grief because in kneeling we would remember that He alone is our hope and He always keeps His promises.

Psalm 31:24 ~ Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord

 Isaiah 41:10 ~ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God:  I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

 

Originally written: September 13, 2018