Trivia:
New York city was originally called New Amsterdam when it was discovered by the Dutch, however, when the British went to war and took over the area they renamed it New York in 1664. It was then renamed as a tribute to King Charles brother, James, Duke of York. It has since has been given many nick names such as, Canvas Town, Empire Town, City of Churches, Melting Pot, The City that Never Sleeps, The Big Apple, etc.
Challenge:
Psalm 73:12-17 You, O God, are my king from ages Past, bringing salvation to the earth. 13 You split the sea by you strength and smashed the heads of the sea monsters. 14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan and let the desert animals eat him. 15 caused the springs and streams to gush forth, and you dried up rivers that never run dry. 16 Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. 17 You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter."
This Psalm begins by remembering the defeat of Jerusalem, spoken of in 2 Kings 25, where the city was put under siege by the Babylonian's for eleven years until the city fell, and the temple was destroyed, king Zedekiah's sons were killed and he was blinded. His last sight was his sons being killed.
The next section of the Psalm verse 12-17 the writer in this prayer reminds God of His bond with Israel (Abrahamic covenant). Then he reflects on God's supernatural deeds to protect the nation, beginning with the splitting of the Red Sea in order for Israel to walk across on dry ground, in verse 17 and God's power to bring water to the springs, and day and night to the skys, and lastly summer and winter to the land.
When our circumstances seem impossible to bear, and even the very climate of the earth seems defeated, the writer, tells us to remember just who is in charge of caring for His children. How powerful He is, how His hand stands against the greatest enemy that we can imagine.
Tomorrow we will see the writers word where he speaks to God the lessons he has learned through his trials. So now we pause today to reflect on the mighty power of our God and His protective work why we are confident that He is capable to carriy out His care upon His children as we faithfully trust in His care and protection.
Just think God made day and night and yes even the seasons of the year, and even the national boundaries. So we are asked to reflect on His watchcare over the children of THE KING. We are also reminded of the importance of our prayers to God. They should be spoken to honor Him and to uphold His people in the middle of difficulty.
The challenge for us is that when we are faced by struggles and uncertainty to call out to Him and then to rest in His power. Through this time we are reminded of the mighty workings of God, of His ability to make a way to move forward in His care.
SO GO WITH GOD and don't forget His promise to protect us from the evil work of Satan to take our eyes off of God and His love for us. REMEMBER: He will never allow us to be defeated when we look to Him for wisdom and peace. Not only that, but He will never allow struggles into our lives without bringing to bear beneficial change in our lives for ourselves and others that we love.