The Mighty Warrior Who Saves

Are you dismayed by what has been going on in the world in the past few weeks?  Are you hurting due to some type of personal loss, or maybe dealing with feelings of sadness and loneliness?  I have personally spoken with many in the past few days about very intense situations that they are dealing with.  These situations range from personal issues to job/church issues.  It can be very easy to feel isolated and alone during these times in our lives.  Even as ministers, Satan likes to dupe us into believing that we are completely alone at times.  These verses, along with the rest of Psalms 34 are an amazing reminder that we are not alone.  In fact, it is in our most isolated and lonely moments that the nearness of Jesus can be felt.  Take a look at this scripture:

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil to blot out their name from the earth.  The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  -- Psalms 34:15-18 NIV

God is with us... He does not leave our side.  I have to remind myself of that every day, even though I know it to be true.  He will fight our battles for us, if we are just willing to lay down our weapons and rely on him.  It may seem difficult (sometimes impossible) to do, but we must look to God during these intense times of our lives.  We are reminded of this in 1 Peter 5:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV

There are battles we cannot possible win on our own...  There are days when we cannot possibly make it without someone to pull us through...   This is when the Lord, our Mighty Warrior steps in on our behalf.  Like He was doing during the time of Zephaniah, He may be doing some refining and changing of us, His people.  Some of the hurt in our lives can be caused by our own sinful nature.  God may be using the situations that you are facing to smooth off some rough edges.  Just remember this verse during those times of refinement:

"The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” -- Zephaniah 3:17 NIV