Psalm 62:5-8

Maybe there’s not enough money in the bank to cover that bill. Or a loved one died. Or your family is facing hard times. In difficult or painful circumstances, many believers turn to the Bible in search of comfort and guidance. Within its pages, we find assurance that encourages us through every season of life: “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23).

God truly is faithful. In other words, we can count on Him to be and do exactly what He says. For instance, the Bible assures us that the Lord is trustworthy, loving, and incapable of failure (Psalm 37:5; Rom. 5:8; Josh. 1:5). Out of deep love for us, He’ll use any aspect of His multifaceted nature to provide exactly what He knows we need. He’s our Savior, Comforter, and Discipliner, who safely guides us through life’s changes and challenges.

No matter what hardships we face, we can trust God because He knows all things. He’s aware of the duration and intensity of our current season and uses His knowledge to offer us the best possible help and support. What’s more, the Lord is all-powerful, which means He is more than adequate to meet needs and change circumstances according to His plan. And our Father is everywhere, including right beside us in whatever we face. He promises, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).

Difficulties may cause us to question God’s dependability. But if we’ll place our trust in our omniscient, omnipotent Father, we can begin each morning with a fresh sense of His faithfulness, which will carry us through the day.

Bible in One Year: Numbers 11-13

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Matthew 5:13

In today’s verse from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called His followers “the salt of the earth.” It was a way to describe how we as Christians are to influence the society around us. Who we are, what we say, and the things we do in the world can be compared to the role and effect of salt.

Salt flavors. Have you ever eaten a baked potato without salt? It probably tasted bland, didn’t it? Whenever salt is added to food, the taste is enhanced, and that’s how Christlike character, words, and actions can flavor our witness and open the door for people to hear our message.

Salt preserves. In biblical times, salt was used to preserve food so it wouldn’t spoil. In the same way, our lifestyles offer an alternative to the corrupting ways of the world and point people to Jesus for salvation.

Salt impacts what it touches. The chemical reactions caused by salt may be invisible, but the changes it brings are evident. We never know how a timely word, an act of kindness, or a stand for righteousness may affect someone.

Salt causes thirst. When those who don’t know Christ see how we handle suffering with calmness, endurance, and hope, they will thirst to know how we do it. Telling them of our reliance on God and His sufficiency could lead them to our Savior.

Do the people around you sense something special about you and thirst to know what it is? Becoming salt of the earth isn’t simply a matter of being good; it’s the work of the Holy Spirit. When His fruit is produced in us (Gal. 5:22-23), our life will bear the flavor of Christ.

Bible in One Year: Numbers 8-10

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Hebrews 12:4-13

Since difficulties and pain are a universal experience of mankind, we may not recognize when our particular trial is the result of divine discipline. In Job’s day, the common thinking was that all suffering was the result of sin, but today some Christians have swung so far away from this flawed teaching that they fail to consider whether their adversity might be related to waywardness.

When this happens to us, we usually just want to find a way out of the difficulty and move on, but in every painful situation, God is working to purify our life and make us righteous. He knows our weaknesses and sees when we compromise and fall into sin. So as a loving Father, He intervenes to bring us back into obedience and fellowship with Him.

Pain has a way of bringing to light sinful attitudes and practices, of which we were unaware. It drives us to our knees, and as we draw closer to the Lord, we see more of His holiness and recognize the ugliness of our sin.

What we do with this conviction of sin is of utmost importance. If we grumble and groan but refuse to repent and change, then we lengthen the trial, which intensifies the pain and sets us up for further discipline. This is not a sign of God’s disfavor; rather it shows His love for us. He knows a path of sin is unfitting for His children.

Let’s choose the better option of repentance and obedience. When we let our trials train us in holiness, we will reap “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11). And compliance with the will of our heavenly Father brings joy to His heart.

Bible in One Year: Numbers 6-7

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