“There also you and your households shall eat before the LORD your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the LORD your God has blessed you.” (Deut. 12:7 NASB)

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice

“Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.” (Psalm 32:11 BASB)

Shout joyfully to God

“Shout joyfully to God, all the earth…” (Psalm 66:1 NASB)

Sing for joy and exult His Name

“But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You.” (Psalm 5:11 NASB)

“Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with uprightness And guide the nations on the earth.” (Psalm 67:4 NASB)

“Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.” (Isa. 65:24 ESV)

God hears the prayers of the righteous

“The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” (Prov. 15:29 ESV)

“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.” (Psalm 34:15 ESV)

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17 ESV)

Call to God and He will answer you

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jer. 33:3 ESV)

“In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” (Psalm 18:6 ESV)

Therefore…

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 ESV)

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15 ESV)

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7 ESV)

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalm 103:8 ESV)

God is merciful and slow to anger

“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalm 145:8 ESV)

God is merciful because of His great love

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us…” (Eph. 2:4 ESV)

God is merciful He will not leave you

“For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.” (Deut. 4:31 ESV)

Therefore…

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matt. 5:7 NLT)

“And rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” (Joel 2:13 ESV)

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11 ESV)

Guardian angels for children

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 18:10 ESV)

Angels encamp around those who fear the Lord

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.” (Psalm 34:7 ESV)

Angels can look like strangers

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Heb. 13:2 ESV)

Ministering angels serve those who are to inherit salvation

“Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14 ESV)

Innumerable angels

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering…” (Heb. 12:22 ESV)

Angels do His Word

“Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!” (Psalm 103:20 ESV)

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Ez. 34:11-12 ESV)

We were in danger

A few years ago (before GPS) Susan and I got lost while traveling through a major city. Somehow we ended up in the worse part of the city. We saw gang members and other dangerous types all around us. Suddenly a police car appeared from out of nowhere and the officer, a young black man, pulled up beside us and signaled us to roll down our window so he could speak to us. He asked us why we were there and told us that we were in danger. We confessed that we had gotten turned around and very lost. He asked us where we needed to be and then told us to follow him to our hotel which was located several miles away at the opposite side of the city. We thanked him and he drove away. That officer was obviously sent from God to rescue us and we were very grateful!

The Lord will rescue me

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (2 Tim. 4:18 ESV)

“As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.” (Isa. 55:16 NIV)

He has delivered us

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…” (Col. 1:13 ESV)

The Lord knows how to rescue the godly

“Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment…” (2 Peter 2:9 ESV)

Even to your old age

“Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” (Isa. 46:4 ESV)

“The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.” (Eccles. 1:6 ESV)

No one can control the wind except God

We just have to deal with whatever weather conditions come our way; rain, sunshine, nice weather or storms. A number of years ago, Susan and I were attending some classes at Wheaton Bible Collage. Suddenly the skies turned an eerie green and stuff started blowing past the windows. We were then told to go to the basement and wait out the storm, which we did. Later, when we were taking the test, there was a multiple choice question which said: What do you do when a tornado hits? A) Pray, B) Claim Romans 8:28, C) Run to the basement, and D) All of the above. The correct answer was D, All of the above. You pray, and claim Romans 8:28, while running to the basement. It is the right answer when you think about it.

What the Bible tells us about the wind

• The wind blows where it wishes

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8 ESV)

• Jesus rebuked the wind

“And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:39-41 ESV)

• Angels hold back the four winds

“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.” (Rev. 7:1 ESV)

• God used the wind to accomplish His purpose

“Then a wind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground.” (Num. 11:31 ESV)

“But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.” (Jonah 1:4 ESV)

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before..." (Phil. 3:13 KJV)

It’s easier to see after-the-fact

Many times over the years I really wanted something that I thought was right for me. But, for one reason or another, I didn’t get it. This was true concerning jobs I had applied for, things I wanted to obtain, girls I wanted to date, and even places I wanted to travel to. And, as I look back, I can clearly see that the hand of God had been at work. And, where I am today, is very different (in a positive way) than what it would have been had I gotten what I was sure I wanted back then.

God knows the future and what’s best for us

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa. 55:8-9 ESV)

God has good plans for us

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11 ESV)

Therefore…

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (James 4:13-16 ESV)

And, remember this…

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Prov. 16:9 ESV)

“In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” (Prov. 14:23 ESV)

God’s supply is often disguised

One day I happen to be speaking to a young man at a coffee shop who had just told me he was praying that God would meet his needs according to the promise found in Proverbs 4:19. I asked him how it was going. He said that he was still waiting patiently for God’s answer. He then asked me for my advice since he knew I wrote books about God’s promises. I told him, “Yes! God definitely does “supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19), But, it is often disguised as work.

The diligent is greatly supplied

“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” (Prov. 13:4 ESV)

Work to earn your own living

“For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” (2 Thess. 3:10-12 ESV)

The hand of the diligent will rule

“The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.” (Prov. 12:24 ESV)

Therefore…

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” (Eccles. 9:10 ESV)

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” (Prov. 16:3 ESV)

“Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…” (Phil. 2:14-15 ESV)

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” (Prov. 16:3 ESV)

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 1:4 NIV)

Love in deed and in truth

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18 ESV)

Truth is from Jesus

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17 ESV)

God’s Word of is truth

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17 ESV)

The truth will set you free

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32 ESV)

Therefore…

“Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” (Psalm 25.5 ESV)