…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

(Heb 13:5)

What precious words these are to the Christian! Can one say for certain that their child will never leave them or forsake them? Can it be said of a dear friend? I’m sure we can all say that a friend has abandoned us at the worse time in our lives! But not so with the Lord.

My friend, Christ promises to always stay with us and never forsake us. Noah Webster’s definition of the word forsake is as follows:

1. To quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from. Friends and flatterers forsake us in adversity.

We can feel as though we have lost our way and that God would never forgive us, but the Word says otherwise. If I were to re-phrase Hebrews 13:5, I could say that the Lord will never leave us entirely – or the Lord will never abandon us – or the Lord will never depart from us. I don’t know about you, but this is eternal security in a nutshell!

There is nothing more encouraging to me when I am discouraged than to remember that the Lord is right there with me. My position in the family of God once I am born-again is sealed, according to Ephesians 4:30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.(Eph 4:30) Noah Webster says that the word sealed means:

Furnished with a seal; fastened with a seal; confirmed; closed.

My salvation is confirmed in Heaven and the matter is closed! Enough said! My Father in Heaven will never leave my side, His Son’s Spirit lives within me and will never leave me – no matter what state I am in.

…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Mat 28:20)

Praise the Lord that I can encourage my heart by dwelling on the permanency of my salvation!

His work on the cross brought death to sin
So I can live righteously
The Shepherd and Bishop of my soul
Purchased me for eternity

Excerpt from A Vessel in the Potter’s Hand

David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. (1Sa 17:37)

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. (1Sa 17:45)

And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. (1Sa 17:47)

As I lay in bed reading last night, this account of David and his battle with Goliath just jumped off the pages and encouraged my heart so much. We have all heard this account numerous times, some of you preachers have probably preached on it several times. But have we truly stopped to think about the little details the Lord has given us?

I once read that David was approximately 15 years old when he killed the 9-foot Goliath. Several things impressed me about this account.

• He had already killed a lion and a bear
• He recognized that God brought him through that and he was confident that God would bring him through the trial with Goliath
• David was so confident that he confronted Goliath with the statement showing he was not afraid of Goliath’s sword because he had God on his side
• David recognized that God’s solutions are not with the sword and that the battle was the Lord’s

David saw the trial ahead of him — a 9-foot soldier with the armor to match his size. How many 9-foot giants have we had in our own lives? Each trial seems to be greater than the last. We’re just now overcoming our battle with discouragement. I didn’t even get a feeling at all that David was discouraged over his upcoming battle with Goliath, did you? I only noticed confidence on David’s part in this account.

Will we look at our next trial in the same manner David did? David recognized Who helped him with the lion and the bear. So much so, he had confidence that this same God would help him with the next trial. Also, he didn’t keep that confidence hidden away in his heart. David had a testimony before the people. They were able to see where his confidence came from.

David announced for all to hear, including his nine-foot giant, that he had the Lord of Hosts on his side and that the battle was the Lord’s. Our bout with discouragement was quite a trial in itself. No, it isn’t fighting lions and bears or nine-foot giants, but the circumstances sure did feel like it, didn’t it? But God brought us out of this discouragement. Our hearts have been encouraged once again. We need to glean from this account and realize why God looked at David as the apple of His eye.

It is this same Lord who brought us through our discouargement. It is this same Lord who encouraged our hearts and helped our eyes to look up. The battles in our lives belong to the Lord, my friend. There is great comfort in that. Discouragement was our Goliath. But it is the same God of David who helped defeat our Goliath and gave us wonderful peace and joy once again.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
(Heb 13:8 )

My Shepherd cares for my every need
In my life and along life’s way
He gives me such peace with every trial
Reviving my weary heart each day
Excerpt from O Watcher of My Soul

I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; (Psa 31:7)

It’s one thing to say that you will be glad and rejoice in the Lord, but quite another to have the drive and purpose to do so. As I strive to encourage myself in the Lord, I find that this effort is not only on-going but is progressive. Total encouragement does not happen over night. However, there are immediate results when we begin to exercise our encouragement muscle.

As I look at Psalm 31:7, I noticed that David was glad and rejoicing in the Lord’s mercy. I love looking up the definitions of words used in the King James Bible using Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary. Today’s definitions of these same words are so diluted. Noah’s definitions put Psalm 31:7 into a more meaningful light. Let me show you the difference:

The Cambridge Dictionary’s definition of the word mercy:

kindness and forgiveness shown towards someone whom you have authority over

Noah Webster’s definition of the word mercy:

1. That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being.

The Cambridge Dictionary’s definition of the word considered:

an opinion or decision that someone has reached after a lot of thought

Noah Webster’s definition of the word considered:

Thought of with care; pondered; viewed attentively; deliberated on; examined.

I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; (Psa 31:7)

After reading Noah Webster’s definitions for mercy and considered, it reveals a more compassionate Father and One who cares for us intimately. David knew that God not only viewed his troubles attentively but God also pondered over them and examined them. God knew all the “in’s and out’s” of David’s troubles. David did not have to worry about a thing because His Heavenly Father had everything under control.

Furthermore, the Father knew David’s soul in his troubles – again this shows us that God knew David intimately.

No wonder David was glad and rejoicing in His mercy! There is nothing more comforting than to be able to turn over our troubles and leave them in the Lord’s capable hands. The same God who helped David and knew him intimately, is able to do the same for us!

Let us rejoice and be glad in God’s mercy toward us!

Kate Plourde
August 24, 2006

Oh come join me all ye who love Him
Let our voices ne’er cease to sing
Cast thy burdens at Jesus’ Precious Feet
Shout Hosannah to our Heavenly King!

Excerpt from Jesus My Redeemer, My King

Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. (Jam 5:13)

Thank you, Brother Jerry, for encouraging me to cover the first part of this verse and elaborate on it a bit. As we review the first part of the verse, let’s rest on the word afflicted for a bit. Noah Webster defines the word as:

AFFLICT’ED, pp. Affected with continued or often repeated pain, either of body or mind; suffering grief or distress, of any kind; followed by at, by or with; as, afflicted at the loss of a child, by the rheumatism, or with losses.

We can see that the state of discouragement is covered in this definition. David’s solution to this was prayer. The Word says it is to your benefit!

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (Jam 5:16)

Confess your discouragement to God and to dear saints who will pray on your behalf. Furthermore, you want to make sure that the Lord will hear your prayers. When you send a letter to IRS, you send it certified mail and return receipt requested to ensure that it gets there. Your prayer life will be hindered if you have unconfessed sin.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: (Psa 66:18 )

Your prayers will go unanswered if you have unconfessed sin. Someone once said “Keep your accounts short with God.” That is good advice. Now you can lift up your needs before the Lord and be healed from your discouragement. The latter part of James 5:16 states that a righteous man (covered by the Blood of Jesus) who prays specifically for his needs before God with fervancy (such great desire) will profit much! God desires to answer our prayers, my friend.

Once our heart is clean before the Lord, we can go before Him with boldness knowing that all hindrances have been removed and His ear is at our mouth.
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. (Eph 3:12) The sin of discouragement has been forgiven; the Father will hear our prayer because our righteousness lies in Christ; and now we can go before the Father with boldness knowing that He will provide encouragement to our heart.

Sometimes it is easier to encourage others than ourselves. Oh how true this statement is! But encouraging ourselves is do-able! David encouraged himself in the Lord ( I Samuel 30:6). That’s is why James provided the latter part of today’s verse. Yesterday’s devotional covered this – reading Psalms is a wonderful way to encourage your spirit. Also, surround yourself with saints who will encourage your heart and pray for you!

Here is a beautiful poem, written by Brother Jerry in 2001. It is so appropriate and I know it will bless you as much as it did me!

A Friend When You Need One

It’s so easy to get discouraged,
To be downcast or in despair.
When you feel all alone in your wilderness,
And it seems that no one cares.That’s when temptation hits the hardest,
Where the battle is nearly lost – or won.
When you stumble through dark valleys
And gloomy shadows hide the Son.

In your loneliness and your struggles,
Here’s a solution that may seem odd –
Don’t look around to man for comfort,
Instead, with hope, look up to God.

Jesus will provide the grace you require
And His Word will light the way.
All you need is faith to claim His promises,
And your night will turn to day.

The Lord knows your each and every need –
He knows, before you even ask in prayer.
Just keep on being faithful to Him,
And, in time, His answer will be there.

So instead of giving up in disgrace,
Do the work that must be done;
You will find that as you run the race,
God will bring a friend when you most need one.

December 8th, 2001
Jerry Bouey

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. (Pro 17:22)

As we start the second half of our discouragement series, we will be focusing on encouragement. Encouragement is the medicine that heals the heart and brings joy. As we are in the process of healing our discouraged spirit, we are focusing on exactly what we have to do to restore that joy which will bring about a soul which is at rest.

I just love God’s Word! Our compassionate Father, who pities us, gives us verses in the Bible that are right there for us to glean from. All we have to do is search them out. A simple Bible software program has a search feature which allows me to search for particular words. Today, I searched for the word “merry” and my soul leaped within me when I discovered James 5:13. What a wonderful solution to obtaining that merry heart! Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. (Jam 5:13)

It stands to reason that if I am not merry, then I am not singing psalms. Therefore, if I want to be merry, I need to sing psalms! Is that simple or what? Not only did the Lord provide the solution in James 5:13, but our Succorer gave us the Book of Psalms. Furthermore, not only did He give us one or two psalms, but our Creator knew we would be in need of many and gave us 150 of them! Three psalms a day is enough to keep any soul merry!

My friend, I hate to sound like a broken record, but once again the Word comes into play. Everything we need in life is contained in the Word. It is the very food (bread) that we need to feed the spirit within us.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Mat 4:4)

Kate Plourde
August 22, 2006

You are my light, my water, my bread
A cleansing power is Your blood so red
This Crimson Thread is revealed throughout
Each letter, each page Your Word thus shouts

Excerpt from “Your Word, My Breath”