Those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. Revelation 12:17.

Then I was constantly at His side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in His presence, rejoicing in His whole world and delighting in mankind. Proverbs 8:30-31.

Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6.

This morning in our zoom group, we talked about those things that we know go deep, things we have counted on throughout our lives whether Scripture verses or experiences drawing us closer to Creator God – Father…Son…Spirit. How do you put that to words? We are asked to be ready to give an explanation for the hope that is within us. As my mind flooded with lessons learned it condensed to that moment as a young child when I loved God with all my heart and wanted to go live with Him. I can’t say why I experienced that. Only that I did and it was wonderful! He was there when I was a teenager and so distraught I wanted not to live. Hope sprang within me and I knew I wanted to keep going. Later in adult years and realizing that what I was being taught in church was damaging and I needed to leave. I needed to know God. He will recover the truth because He is the truth and longs for us to come to Him for understanding. A pillar going deep is the faith to trust Him in everything. I don’t need explanations. I need Him. As our group leader said this morning, what we truly need is to know that God cares. A pillar!

And when I read our next chapter, Proverbs 11, it speaks through 31 verses of how we can live our lives knowing that God is Sovereign and He will not lead us astray. Practical examples of what living a life of faith gives and what choosing our own way opposite to all God desires for us brings. The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with Him…When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom…The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires…v. 1, 2, 6. There are more but what speaks to you when you are in need of hope? For me, knowing that even though bad things happen in this world of ours, our God is working for our good because He cares. We may not understand but He does. I have seen that in my own life so many times that I am finally able to put it together with the Goodness of our God who loves us and will redeem us in His Wisdom and always in His Love and Care. Pillars of Faith.