All around us there is bad news these days. Wars, rumors of wars, tornados, floods, earthquakes, fires, all types of disasters either have already taken place or are about to. I'm telling you, if all this isn't the fulfillment of prophecy pointing to end times, I don't know what is. But do you know what? I'm not worried.
We are looking forward to the return of Jesus, and this is the time for the patience of the Saints (that's us, in case you don't know). Recently I've spoken to so many who are starting to live in fear, and that is not good! They're worried about how they'll cope with rising fuel costs, rising food costs, unemployment, and about anything else you can think of.
Well, we know things don't look good, but have you read Psalm 91 recently? Better yet, have you spoken it over yourself and your family today? I have!
Don't you think the Lord God, Who created the entire creation by the word of His power, can keep you and your family in (and through) hard times? Once you settle this verse in Psalm 91, "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him will I trust,"then the majority of your troubles are over. From there, it's "watch and see the deliverance of the Lord" time.
We have learned to put our trust in God. For me, it was only recently, July 1993, that I made a quality decision to trust God, and through thick and thin, and I have never recanted on that.
I can remember July 1993 like it was just yesterday. The doctors told me I would be dead in a month or less from liver cancer. Well, back then I was just like a lot of you. I went to church most every week "doing God a favor" by putting in my two hours. If things looked good, then I could trust God. If things looked bad, then I had to trust myself to get through.
All through my life, since age nine, I pretty much had to depend on myself, as my parents couldn't take care of me, even though they tried to. If I needed clothes, shoes, schoolbooks, or whatever, I mowed yards or did other work to buy them.
As I grew up, never once did I ask anyone for help, not even relatives or in-laws. If it happened, it was because I made it happen. But all that changed in 1993, because I couldn't make myself well. It would take something that had more power and determination than I had. Finally, I had to ask for help.
One of the hardest things I ever did in my life was to give up control of my life, and put it in God's hands. Looking back, I had nothing to fear, but I didn't know that at the time. You see, having depended upon myself to meet my needs and those of my family, never gave me opportunity to learn to trust God. The only thing I really trusted was me.
Some of you are like that even though you know you can't really take care of your needs. Maybe deep down inside you think God may not be able to either. Maybe I should rephrase that. You may know God can take care of you, but will He?
I guess that was really my question, too. I read the story in Matthew 8 about a leper that faced that same issue, having said, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." He knew Jesus could, but didn't know if He would. The leper got that issue immediately settled, when Jesus said "I will, be thou clean!" That was about 2,000 years ago.
And Jesus settled it for me in July 1993. I found that God is not only able to save us, heal us, and take care of us but He is willing to use His awesome power in our behalf. And, thank God, when hard times have come my way, I've never had to re-settle that issue again. No, it is settled, period.
I think we all would benefit by settling our issues over the cup of communion today. Whatever bad news you're facing, find the scriptures that cover your need, and settle it over communion, once and for all.
You can trust God, He has never broken His word in all eternity, and He sure isn't going to start with you! As we read or hear all the bad news, we are tempted to wonder if God really going to bring us through all this. Psalm 91 is your answer, "Though a thousand fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee."
Go ahead, read the whole Psalm—in fact, memorize it! Speak it out every time the threat of bad news arises around you. The devil knows your address...it's the "Secret place of the Most High." But don't worry; he can't touch you there. So what are you worried about? If God be for you, who can be against you? If God be for you, who cares who's against you?
Like the fairy tale of The Three Little Pigs, the wolf threatened, "I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down." They laughed from inside their nice, safe brick house, "Go ahead, wolf, blow your brains out, you can't hurt us in here."
If you have to, dig some money out of your pocket and read where it says, "In God We Trust." It is good to remind yourself of this often. You're not doing it to talk God into taking care of you. You're doing it to talk yourself into knowing God will take care of you. He already knows He is trustworthy. The question is, do you? "In God we trust" is not just a catchy little phrase. It's our way of life, forever.
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