Fear not, I am the one who helps you.

"For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand;it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."

-------Isaiah 41:13 (English Standard Version)

Your life is a series of events that God uses to speak to you, but sometimes you miss what God is saying. You may forget about God altogether when things are going well.During the tough times, you might wonder why God seems to be so far away. Sometimes, you may feel like your life doesn't make sense. When you feel that way, you may not be aware of it first, but Jesus will slip up behind you and whisper words of encouragement to you from God's Word the way He did to the two discouraged disciples who were walking to Emmaus after the crucification of Jesus Christ. The Lord God pull the events of your life together and show you they all make perfect sense. 

Where Are the Nine?

"Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?" - Luke 17:17 (NIV).

"You probably read about Paddy who was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place.

"Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Church every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey.

"Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

"Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'"

While we make jokes about such things, I wonder how often I pray, God answers, and I forget to say thank you ... or fail to even see that God has answered my prayer because it wasn't in the way that I wanted or expected it to be.

The fact is, when my prayer is sincere from the heart, God always ears and answers it. Sometimes the answer is "Yes," sometimes it is "No," and sometimes it is "Wait a while." And sometimes it is in a way that is totally different from what I expected.

The important thing is that we always thank God for hearing and answering our prayers regardless of the way in which they are answered because God always knows what is best for us. Let's not be like the ten lepers whom Jesus healed and only one came back to acknowledge and thank Jesus for healing him.