{"id":2412,"date":"2024-07-08T10:10:12","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T14:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/?p=2412"},"modified":"2024-07-08T10:10:12","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T14:10:12","slug":"encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Encouragement for Tough Times: “Know that the Lord Is God”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Photo by Artem Sapegin<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Our world is marked by division, conflict, and strife. Where do we find encouragement? The psalmist tells us: \u201cKnow that the Lord is God!\u201d<\/p>\n

Scripture:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h3>\n \ Hosea, chapters 13-14; Psalms 100, 102; Hebrews, chapter 5<\/p>\n Psalm 100 (CEB):<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n**** ** Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with celebration! Come before him with shouts of joy! Know that the Lord is God \u2013 he made us; we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his own pasture.<\/em><\/p>\n ** ****Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name! Because the Lord is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.<\/em><\/p>\n Observations:<\/strong> Shout Triumphantly to the Lord<\/em><\/h3>\n****** ** ******Psalm 100 begins with the challenge to shout triumphantly to the Lord.<\/em> The problem is that when we look around us, we focus on things that don\u2019t cause us to shout triumphantly.<\/em> Anger and division dominate our cultural discourse. Social media give people a platform to say whatever they want with few, if any, consequences. What is there to shout triumphantly<\/em> about?<\/p>\n Know that the Lord is God<\/em><\/h3>\n******** ** The psalmist tells us in verse 3: Know that the Lord is God.<\/em> Although many want to deny it, there is an underlying, ultimate truth: the Lord is God.<\/em> He created this world; He sustains it moment by moment. He made us; we belong to him.<\/em> Whether we acknowledge it or not, that is the truth. This world is not some big cosmic accident. We are not here by chance, but by the willful decision of the Creator. Know that the Lord is God!<\/em><\/p>\n ** ********Some people respond, \u201cbut why is there such pain and suffering and evil in the world? How do you harmonize the reality of this current world with the belief in an all-powerful God?\u201d I believe that God created us with free will \u2013 the ability to choose whether to obey or disobey Him. That free will would be illusory if disobedience had no consequences. So God created a good world, and entrusted it to humanity. Humanity\u2019s sinful choices have consequences, and now we live in a broken world.<\/p>\n But one day, God will set everything right. We don\u2019t know when that will happen, but we believe that it will. Why? Because the Lord is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.<\/em> God\u2019s plan is to prepare us for eternity in His kingdom, where all things will be made new (Revelation 21:3-5<\/a>). In the meantime, God calls us to walk in His way. Jesus has shown us that way; he is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2<\/a>). He promised to be with us always, to the very end of the age.\u00a0 Shout triumphantly to the Lord\u2026Know that the Lord is God!<\/em><\/p>\n Application:<\/strong> Encouragement for Tough Times: \u201cKnow that the Lord Is God\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n******** ** How can we find peace in a world of fear and conflict? Know that the Lord is God.<\/em> Because He is God, He is responsible for results. We are simply responsible for our obedience. God does not promise us \u201chappiness\u201d or \u201csuccess\u201d on the world\u2019s terms. Contrary to what some claim, God does not promise to make us wealthy in human terms. He promises to supply everything that we need, spiritually and materially, if we seek first His kingdom.<\/p>\n ** The problem is that what we think we \u201cneed\u201d is colored by cultural expectations and human selfishness. We think that we \u201cneed\u201d big houses and new cars. Our desires (and consumption) of food far exceeds what we \u201cneed.\u201d We chase money and fame and pleasure, thinking that we \u201cneed\u201d those things to be fulfilled.<\/p>\n ** What we really need is God. God created us to be in relationship with Him. No one else and nothing else will satisfy that need. Each of us has a God-shaped hole in our hearts, and only God can truly fill that hole. When we acknowledge God \u2013 Know that the Lord is God<\/em> \u2013 we find that we can respond to the psalmist\u2019s call to shout triumphantly to the Lord.<\/em> Our joy is not grounded in our present circumstances; it is grounded in the promise of God. And his faithfulness lasts generation after generation<\/em>!<\/p>\n ** Prayer:<\/strong><\/h3>\n ** Father, thank you for reminding us that our peace comes from knowing you. As our world spins more and more out of control, we look forward to the day when your kingdom comes in its fullness. Help us today to walk in your way \u2013 to do your will on earth as it is done in heaven. As we do that, we can trust in your faithfulness, because you are good. Help us today to remember that you \u2013 and you alone \u2013 are God.\u00a0 Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ** ********Our world is marked by division, conflict, and strife. Where do we find encouragement? The psalmist tells us: \u201cKnow that the Lord is God!\u201d Scripture:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hosea, chapters 13-14; Psalms 100, 102; Hebrews, chapter 5 Psalm 100 (CEB): Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with celebration! Come before him with shouts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4741,"featured_media":2325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[300],"tags":[1731,521,623,1728,1472,1734],"class_list":["post-2412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-formation","tag-encouragement-in-tough-times","tag-faith","tag-fear","tag-know-that-the-lord-is-god","tag-seek-first-gods-kingdom","tag-shout-to-the-lord"],"yoast_head":"\nEncouragement for Tough Times: "Know that the Lord Is God"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our world is marked by division, conflict, and strife. Where do we find encouragement? The psalmist tells us: "Know that the Lord is God!"\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Encouragement for Tough Times: "Know that the Lord Is God"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our world is marked by division, conflict, and strife. Where do we find encouragement? The psalmist tells us: "Know that the Lord is God!"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"My Journey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pastorrickrice\/about_work_and_education\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-08T14:10:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1540\/2024\/06\/artem-sapegin-8c6eS43iq1o-unsplash-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rick Rice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DrRickRice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rick Rice\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/\",\"name\":\"Encouragement for Tough Times: \\\"Know that the Lord Is God\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-08T14:10:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-08T14:10:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/fcf8827bc25bf1bdcc20cc2cdca6d163\"},\"description\":\"Our world is marked by division, conflict, and strife. Where do we find encouragement? The psalmist tells us: \\\"Know that the Lord is God!\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Encouragement for Tough Times: “Know that the Lord Is God”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/\",\"name\":\"My Journey\",\"description\":\"Reflections on Scripture and my discipleship journey with Jesus\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/fcf8827bc25bf1bdcc20cc2cdca6d163\",\"name\":\"Rick Rice\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df1478ca9a4a0eeffce528852ca2e9ba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df1478ca9a4a0eeffce528852ca2e9ba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rick Rice\"},\"description\":\"Rick Rice has a B.A. in Business Management from Olivet Nazarene University. He earned a J.D. degree from Notre Dame Law School and a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Theological Seminary.\u00a0 He's a husband, father, pastor, lawyer, and follower of Jesus. He enjoys hiking, cycling, and golf.\u00a0\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pastorrickrice\/about_work_and_education\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrRickRice\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/author\/rrice\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Encouragement for Tough Times: \"Know that the Lord Is God\"","description":"Our world is marked by division, conflict, and strife. Where do we find encouragement? The psalmist tells us: \"Know that the Lord is God!\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Encouragement for Tough Times: \"Know that the Lord Is God\"","og_description":"Our world is marked by division, conflict, and strife. Where do we find encouragement? The psalmist tells us: \"Know that the Lord is God!\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/","og_site_name":"My Journey","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pastorrickrice\/about_work_and_education","article_published_time":"2024-07-08T14:10:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1540\/2024\/06\/artem-sapegin-8c6eS43iq1o-unsplash-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rick Rice","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DrRickRice","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rick Rice","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/","name":"Encouragement for Tough Times: \"Know that the Lord Is God\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-07-08T14:10:12+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-08T14:10:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/fcf8827bc25bf1bdcc20cc2cdca6d163"},"description":"Our world is marked by division, conflict, and strife. Where do we find encouragement? The psalmist tells us: \"Know that the Lord is God!\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/encouragement-for-tough-times-know-that-the-lord-is-god\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Encouragement for Tough Times: “Know that the Lord Is God”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/","name":"My Journey","description":"Reflections on Scripture and my discipleship journey with Jesus","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/fcf8827bc25bf1bdcc20cc2cdca6d163","name":"Rick Rice","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df1478ca9a4a0eeffce528852ca2e9ba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df1478ca9a4a0eeffce528852ca2e9ba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Rick Rice"},"description":"Rick Rice has a B.A. in Business Management from Olivet Nazarene University. He earned a J.D. degree from Notre Dame Law School and a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Theological Seminary.\u00a0 He's a husband, father, pastor, lawyer, and follower of Jesus. He enjoys hiking, cycling, and golf.\u00a0","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pastorrickrice\/about_work_and_education","https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrRickRice"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/author\/rrice\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4741"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}