I’m so glad I live in a world where there are OCTOBERS—Anne of Green Gables

October has always been my favorite month – crisp air, leaves raining from the trees, colorful mums, funny scarecrows and large pumpkins. When I was a kid, I looked forward to “trick or treating” in my small town especially at the home of the Fishers where homemade popcorn balls were the treat. Now, I look forward to decorating, eating everything pumpkin, a bonfire and roasting marshmallows with our grands, black cake, watching “Meet Me in St. Louis,” and of course, going to the Fair (previously the Kansas State Fair and currently the NC State Fair). But the real reason I love October certainly has to do with it being my birthday month, not to mention a baby’s birth the day before MY birthday, in 1990.

I also find it a grand time to hunker down in a cozy chair covered with a blanket sipping a hot drink as I pour over God’s Word. The Book of Psalms “overflow [with] a living, dynamic relationship with the one true God who [hears] in the day of trouble (Ps. 50:15) [Holman Old Testament Commentary, H.O.T. C.]. And who can deny the day of trouble? A good way to experience peace and develop a confidence in God is to read a Psalm every day and pray!

“Be gracious to me and hear my prayer . . . Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord! . . . In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.”

Psalm 4:1b, 6b, 8 NASB

Often called “the Evening Psalm,” this “psalm of David,” Psalm 4, was a prayer of trust offered to God at the close of a long, trouble-filled day. . . This psalm expresses the psalmist’s confidence in God during an hour of desperate need. The psalmist could rest secure because God reigned supreme.

In difficult times it is critical that we call upon God. Only he can deliver us out of our troubles. But too many Christians internalize their anxiety rather than rely upon God for relief and rescue. When deeply distressed, believers should pray to God, who is a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1-2). When Christians call upon God from a pure heart, they may have confidence that he hears them and will answer according to his perfect will [H.O.T.C.]

Will you join me as we pursue “the light of God’s presence [to] shine upon [us]” through this Autumn month as the leaves turn and the days grow short?

Troubles are opportunities of great joy because they can drive you nearer to Jesus and mold you into His image.

Chuck Swindoll