I wonder if every past generation of humanity felt that what they were experiencing in life was unique to them. I wonder if our current challenges have the potential to impact us in a greater way because we are experiencing them firsthand. We are living during such a time now. The Bible provides much encouragement to God’s people facing these times of uncertainty!
Pondering this article, the first verse that popped into my mind was an observation by, (according to God the smartest man to have lived), King Solomon. “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). His reminder to us, is that everything that is happening now has happened before, many times.
The challenge for many of us is that we are old enough to remember the way that life used to be. I would describe the “old way” as the Judeo-Christian ethic, which is now a thing of the past. The ethic, while not perfect, was a shared value system that was based upon God’s Word. I can remember what would happen if I misbehaved at school and the teacher sent home a note to my parents. I also remember sitting in the corner redirecting my behavior with the admonition, “I am going to call your dad.” Now, I am not sure if any of these individuals were church people, but they all shared a common value system.
But let us not think that time was perfect. I am reminded that our nation under the Judeo-Christian ethic almost destroyed itself with a civil war, both sides beseeching God to come to their aide. We are also reminded by numerous Biblical accounts of the challenges that God’s people faced. Noah’s time was so bad that God only rescued 8 people from a world-wide flood. Only a handful of the adult aged Israelites got to enter the promised land because of their shenanigans. Even Jesus Himself was “set up” by his own people!
What am I getting at here? God is in control. Let’s think about a few realities for the follower of Christ. First, my trust must be in God; not in man, my spouse, my health, the government or even my bank account. My trust must be in God. Caryl and my life verse reminds us to build our lives on our relationship with our Creator. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”(Proverbs 3:5–6).
Second, I don’t want to come across as morbid, but we are called to live for something more than what this world has to offer. Jesus reminds us of the need to keep our eternal destiny in Him in focus. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”(Matthew 10:28). I often face challenges by looking at the extremes. What are the best and worst things that can happen? Well, Jesus reminds us that the worst thing, losing our lives, is not that bad because we go to be with The Lord.
Third, we are on God’s team. There are numerous reminders in God’s Word that He has us covered. Another one of my favorite verses is, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””( Hebrews 13:5).
One of the most practical things you can do to keep focused on the Lord is to integrate God’s truth into your life. The three most effective personal spiritual exercises, apart from belonging to a church and getting involved in a ministry, are reading The Bible, memorizing verses that stand out and spending time in prayer talking to Him!
-Pastor Joe Parkinson