Your words have held firm him who was falling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon you, and you faint and are grieved; it touches you, and you are troubled and dismayed. Is not your reverent fear of God your confidence and the integrity and uprightness of your ways, your hope? Job 4:4-6 Amplified

During my early walk with the Lord, I seriously thought that my name was Job. I felt as if the Lord had given the go ahead and said, “try my servant Cynde”, when a succession of occurrences began to happen in my life. First, I lost my job, then my car and consequently, my place of residence. Throughout that time, I was scared, confused, and alittle anxious; I cried out repeatedly and even felt that I had somehow failed God. The hardest thing to come to terms with was the fact that I had a young daughter who depended on her mother. I could not explain to her in any certain terms, what was happening. However, I had enough faith to let her know that God would bring us out of this, though I had no clue as to how or when. Yet, I never cursed or blamed God, never lost hope; I couldn’t see it and certainly couldn’t feel it but isn’t that what faith is? Through it all, I never stopped giving God praise and always danced in victory in spite of my circumstance.

The scripture today is one in which I can identify, although it's Job's story. Since that time in my life, I have been a strong witness to the power of God and His faithfulness to us. I have enjoyed being an encouragement to others; making it known that God can and will sustain you through any situation and it is simply a trial of your faith. At this time, Job was in a place of despair because of all the recent events that had transpired in his life. Prior to this, he was good at giving words of encouragement, comforting and strengthening others, but when this series of events came upon him, it left him “weak and distressed” according to his friends. Job was a devout man of God but it was hard for him to find rationale as to why this was happening; he was disturbed in his spirit to say the least. Where had the hope in God gone? Where was the confidence in the God he said he trusted? Where was his assurance? Where was his faith in his God? The One he said he loved and worshipped?

These questions certainly spoke to me and I often thought to myself, how is it possible to always have words of encouragement, or comfort someone so easily and not heed to the words I speak for myself. Those were the questions from the Lord to me and I could only say, “Lord please forgive me and help me to not fall into that state of mind again.” It’s wonderful to know that the Lord loves and cares for us enough to remind us not only who we are, but whose we are and that we must continue to put our trust and our faith in Him. He would have us not to worry or panic; not to become scared, confused or anxious, but to trust that He will make provisions and make ways that will take us from faith to faith. He lets us know that no matter the trial, He is counting on us and He gives us an assurance today that restores and renews our hope and our confidence in Him.

Until the morning, be blessed!

Cynde