Most of our trials and tribulations come unexpectedly to us, but none of them are unexpected to the Lord who knows all from the beginning of all things.  Knowing He does know all, our reliance on Him will deliver us; His plan and design are foolproof.  Psalm 37 reveals His promises to those who are righteous.

PSALM 37 18-29

The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. ¹⁹ They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.²⁰ But the wicked shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. ²² For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

²³ The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. ²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. ²⁵ I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. ²⁶ He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed. ²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore. ²⁸ For the Lord loves justice and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. ²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever

Entanglement comes easily when we are mixing the processes, methods and ways of the world with the ways that Jesus teaches us. Making a worldly response to a problem or need without the leading of the Lord will not produce the outcome Jesus intends for us.  A common example might be using credit cards to get what we think we need instead of waiting on the divine provision of the Lord.  God knows if we indeed need or not, and He promises to meet our needs.  The real difficulty is when we are trying to mix worldly reasoning into what is supposed to be an inspired life.  Of course the Lord knows when we will become entangled.  He is waiting with wire cutters until we realize we are entangled and need to stand still.  The entanglement will just get tighter and tighter, even to the point of wounds, until the moment we quit fighting on our own and we decide to stand still to the point of trust and submit ourselves to Him and allow Him to cut us from our bondage.  You can imagine how difficult it would be to cut a horse from wire tangled around him while the horse is still fighting and kicking in the wire.  Consider when we are entangled in bondages, but enter His rest, understanding to stand still, only moving when and in the way He alone directs, letting Him cut away our bondages.  If we are fighting the entanglement of our own efforts we are so consumed by the bondage it draws all of our attention away from the only real source of Help, our Lord Jesus.  Our standing still in His presence, listening and obedience to the Holy Spirit will deliver us from our bondages.

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Jesus never lost focus of His destiny, which was the cross on Calvary.  His focus was on the Father’s will and the vision and destiny that the Father had for Him.  We too must hold onto the visions and callings that the Lord has given us. We must continue the good fight of faith and continue towards the high calling through Christ Jesus.  When John the Baptist was imprisoned his circumstances caused him to doubt and be discouraged to the point of even questioning the Lord.  

Luke 7:18–23 (NKJV)

18 Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. 19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

20 When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” 21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

We must not allow our circumstances or tribulations define who Jesus is in our lives.  We must keep our eyes, minds and heart focused on the Lord for we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. 

Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Philippians 3:14 (NKJV)

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes even those closest to you may not embrace nor understand the vision and destiny that the Lord has given you because it is your destiny, your calling and the Lord’s desire for you alone.  Don’t be discouraged or disappointed as all things work together for the goodness and glory of God.  It is very likely and often the case that as you overcome your trials and tribulations walking in faith that the Grace and Glory of God is witnessed by others.  There is no testimony with a test, we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony! 

Revelation 12:11 (NKJV)

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Proverbs 3:5 (NKJV)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

There is no greater honor than to serve the Lord!

John 12:26 (NKJV)

If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

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