Daily Devotion
Jesus Is Always With You
By: Marissa Wolf
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Joshua 1:9
Through it all the Lord is with you whether it be through the battles, the hard and the good times, at the lowest point in rock bottom, or if He just pulled you out into His marvelous light! (See: 1 Peter 2:9). The Lord is our Guide leading us every step of the way. (See: Psalm 119:105). What the Lord brings us too, He will bring us through. He will be there in the valleys and He will be there in the mountains and if the mountains are standing in our way, if it is His plan for us, He will move them!
If we feel that He isn’t there with us, that’s a lie from the enemy. (See: John 8:44). It is not God who moved, but us who doubted that He was still there. God never abandons us even when we abandon Him. When we are in the spot of abandoning the Lord and falling deeper into doubt, despair, hopelessness, depression, and our hearts deeply lack in trusting the Lord at all times we have to let go and cast these heavy burdens that are weighing us down and surrender them at His feet while we humbly submit ourselves to the Lord. (See: Proverbs 3:5-7 and Psalm 62:8).
The devil will always try to stop us from surrendering our burdens to the Lord as he knows they are what keeps us from the Lord. These burdens have such a strong chokehold on us, but God can break that chain. Satan will be throwing thoughts and lies left and right and all around at us “peeing in our ear” every chance he can get to get us even more swamped down with guilt not wanting us to leave the trap we fell into that he set for us.
Satan loves to plague our mind with ungodly pleasures and temptations to make us not choose the Lord in these moments and come to repentance in full humility. (See: Acts 3:19, Isaiah 26:3, and Hebrews 12:2). The devil wants us to have walls and walls of pride up that seem almost impossible to break down. We don’t want these walls of endless burdens on our shoulders. (See: Proverbs 16:5, 1 Peter 5:7, and Psalm 55:22). We don’t have the strength to carry them whether it’s a single burden or all of them, however the Lord our God does! (See: John 15:5). His burden is so light that it can never be too heavy and His strength is so great and powerful that it can never be too weak. (See: Matthew 11:28-30). There’s a popular saying which is “God will never give you more than you can handle,” but this statement is false and unbiblical. The truth of the matter is that God will never give you more than He can handle. He is above and beyond all things and it is His strength that can get us through each day!
Bear in mind that the things we hide in the dark will be brought into the light, and sin will always find us out. (See: Luke 12:2-3). But rather than holding on to sin and waiting for the day it reveals itself, it is far better to bring it into the light before the Lord, and before a person of accountability such as a pastor or another Spiritual leader in your life whom you trust. (See: Proverbs 11:14). The Lord already knows what we’re going through and the thoughts that are running through our minds and that are in our very hearts so there’s no reason to hide whatever we are facing or too feel guilty about whatever it may be that we have done or are still doing. If one needs someone to talk too, talk to the Lord, sit with Him in prayer and just lay it on His heart and leave it in His hands. It always feels so much better to get whatever it is that is in our minds off our chests. So go and have a chat with the Lord as if He is your Friend, because He is your friend whether we realize that or not.
We not only have a Friend in the Lord, but He is a great Listening Ear, a Comforter, He can gift us with His wisdom and guidance in where we need to go next, and He is overjoyed when His children come to visit Him! It’s like when we go to our parents or grandparents or someone we love or of authority for advice, we can also do this with God. Although the Lord might not always speak back verbally we still have to be still and listen to His voice and what He is telling us. (See: Psalm 46:10). God is not waiting to bash us over the head with His word when we do things wrong, but rather He is patient and gentle. We must not forget though that He is also just, and throughout the Bible we see many examples of what the punishment of God looks like. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (See: Proverbs 9:10). We must humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord that He may lift us up! (See: James 4:7-10).
Seek Jesus! Seek Him in every moment of every day, but especially in the moments we are going through it, when we want to seek Him the least, we should seek Him first. (See: Matthew 6:33). Sometimes we forget to seek Him in the asking and we get too wrapped up in asking for the things our heart desires, but we must turn our attention to being thankful to the Lord for all the blessings He has already given us and exhibit godliness with contentment, for this is great gain! (See: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and 1 Timothy 6:6). The devil is trying to put a force in you to not pray or to not seek the Lord and we have to fight back harder and say no to the devil! (See: 1 Timothy 6:12). Say no and don’t fall into the devil’s trap. (See: 1 Corinthians 10:13). If we do, we must humbly come to repentance, seek forgiveness, and move forward in holiness.
There will be times where we will face scary situations and they may not always be fun to go through, but we mustn’t turn away from the Lord in these times. We mustn’t give into the spirit of fear for we are called to not be afraid, although it’s always easier said than done, but it still rings true. (See: 2 Timothy 1:7 and 1 John 4:18). We are to count it all joy even in the sour or scary times and to be of good cheer and just keep praising the Lord. (See: James 1:2-3 and John 16:33). Bind and rebuke the devil and just keep trusting in Jesus at all times! Remember the Lord is always with us! Stand strong in Christ my friend!
Will you seek the Lord when things are good, and when things are difficult? Do you trust in Him to provide and take care of you when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel? When the voices of the enemy start whispering, will you bind and rebuke them and bring your burdens before the Lord? Have you found godliness with contentment in your life, or is your heart busy chasing vain pleasures that will pass away? Do you believe that He is always with you wherever you go?
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
Psalm 23:4-6
