Psalm 46:11 (NIV): The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV): Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
WHEN WE'RE IN THE ROUGH is when we need GOD most--in those times of adversity and stress, those times of pain, sorrow, injustice, sickness and fear. In the rough is in loneliness, silence and confusion; in the rough is in darkness with seemingly no exit, no solution--no escape.
But for us there is light; there is hope; there is an answer; there is an escape; there is a solution--JESUS CHRIST, the ANOINTED ONE, the SON of GOD. And He is with us even in the rough, and He won't leave us or forsake us, for He is the Light, and He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the FATHER except through Him.
Because of JESUS' sacrifice of blood and life on the Cross for us, because of His resurrection from death and the grave, and because of GOD's amazing grace, tender mercy, and everlasting love, we are REDEEMED, SAVED, FORGIVEN, and RECONCILED to GOD the FATHER, and we are sealed and empowered by the HOLY SPIRIT, and GOD, who loves us with an unfailing, everlasting love, carries us through the rough and gives us hope that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning, that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world, that no weapon formed against us shall prosper, and that all things work together for our good because we love Him and are the called according to His purpose.
GOD promises never to leave us or forsake us; He promises to be our refuge and our strength, a very present help in time of trouble, and He is ever with us, especially in the rough-- when we have no other friend, when we're the outcast or the orphan, when we're estranged from family, when we have no money, no food, no transportation, not even a home to call our own. When we're in the rough, feeling down and out, GOD IS WITH US and GOD IS FOR US and GOD IS IN US, always there, urging us to live for Him, to trust in Him, to depend on Him, and to keep walking in faith.
And no matter how dark the situation looks or how hopeless it seems, GOD doesn't want us to give in or give up, especially on Him and His Word. He wants us to be strong and courageous and know He loves us, He's with us, He's got us covered, and He's got a purpose and a plan for us, even in the rough, for GOD knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us HOPE and a FUTURE. So, all we've got to do is BELIEVE IN JESUS, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and TRUST that GOD IS WITH US in our trials and triumphs, our good days and bad days, on sunlit fields of dreams or in dark sinkholes in the rough.
