I liked the following written by Selwyn in today’s study: “God has carved you upon the palms of His hands. The great God who sustains the universe thinks continually of you.The Almighty can never forget you or overlook you. It’s just not possible.

So when next the hurricane of unbelief comes crashing into your life and you find it hard to believe you are of consequence in heaven because you are of such little consequence on earth, throw your anchor into the dark depths that surround the cross and I promise you, you will find a firm anchor point for your soul.”

In the Bible, there are a number of examples where we find support for the truth that each person is special to God. In Luke 158-10 (NIV), we read: “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

It’s important to take hold of the truth that God has a personal relationship with each one of His followers; we are not lost in the cloud of believers. When Jesus looks at His church – He sees each one of us, as individuals – all our thoughts, words and actions are known by our Creator, God.

Any comments?

Selwyn asks some very important questions in today’s study: ” … How does what happened at Calvary and the resurrection, relate to us when our marriage looks as if it’s over, redundancy strikes, our children are sick, a loved one is dying, tests prove that surgery is required? … The whole Easter story sounds very gripping when the sun is shining and there are no dark clouds scudding overhead, but what about when the hurricane strikes, when the waves crash in on the beach of our lives and suck our joy out to sea?”

In the book of Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV), we read: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” These verses are primily talking about Jesus helping us when we are being tempted, however, they also indicate that Jesus – having lived during troubled times while He was on earth – can fully empathise with us when we are going through difficult times.

In addition, the key verse for today, John 16:33, provides us with the confidence that Jesus is in control – He will never allow the chaos of this world to totally break us – in a spiritual sense: “I (Jesus) have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I guess the summary is that we will have storms of trouble during our lives; but we can have the confidence that Jesus is alive, and He is the one who encourages, helps, teaches and leads us on our journey, as we follow Him. We can believe this, because we can trust in His love as demonstrated on the cross. Jesus loves you.

Any questions?