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10/18/2017 0 Comments In Times Like These . . . I woke up this morning to the news that a friend of mine since childhood, who was my age, had died suddenly. I was shocked, to say the least, and considered my own mortality. It seems in recent days I have heard from friends and family a bombardment of crises, deaths, difficult decisions, car accidents, cancer diagnoses, hospitalizations, job situations, sickness/health problems, church situations, financial needs, overwhelming stress, etc. As a country, we are experiencing natural disasters like we have never seen before. Sometimes it seems like I am holding my breath, wondering what will happen next.
I was thinking of all this when suddenly I realized I was humming this song: In times like these you need a Savior, In times like these you need an anchor; Be very sure, be very sure, Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock! This Rock is Jesus, Yes, He's the One, This Rock is Jesus, the only One; Be very sure, be very sure, Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock! Even though my mind was considering the difficulties, my spirit knew the answer! I must be anchored in something greater than myself, my family, my career, my government, or anything else that can be moved, shaken, broken apart, or destroyed. I have learned since childhood that the only unmovable, unchanging, unfailing, constant anchor in my life is God. If I do not want to be left drifting helplessly, with no hope in sight, then I must be sure, very sure, that He is my anchor, my only anchor. People, relationships, businesses, governments, even churches, may fail us at some time or other, because they consist of imperfect humanity. Many times, the failures are unintentional, but the hopeless, broken feelings are still there. It is in times like these, especially, that we need an anchor! We need something sure and steadfast in which to be anchored! In times like these . . . I have an anchor! Psalm 43:5 (ESV) Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
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Honestly, it’s been a rough month or so. It seems like I have been on a bad roller coaster ride. It started off exciting! I was in Maine, enjoying vacation time, visiting with friends and relatives, attending church camp meetings; life was wonderful! Then the drop … the phone call I never wanted to receive. My brother calling with bad news: “I have been diagnosed with cancer and probably only have six months to live.” Further tests revealed that the cancer was more wide-spread than they first thought: brain, lungs, and hip. Ups and downs of treatments, tests, hospitalization, nursing home, and then home on hospice, all within a few weeks. Interspersed with all this there were days of laughter and reminiscing. Then another phone call, another plunge, “He’s taken a turn for the worse,” so now it’s down to days. Finally, “He’s gone!” How was that even possible, to happen so quickly?
Following those five, short weeks were tense trips to the ER visiting other family members, happily welcoming my youngest son and his wife back home from a missions trip, sharing disappointments and difficult decisions about the future with family, enjoying a great unexpected weekend getaway . . . yeah, ups and downs on life’s roller coaster! Life can be like that sometimes. Sickness, death, disappointments, struggles, and fears. Yes, there may have been some good moments in the midst, but human nature seems to focus on the bad, the negative, the senselessness of it all. I have found that I must be intentional about focusing on the positive, so as not to be easily overwhelmed by the negative. But how does one do that? I certainly cannot do that by looking at the world around me. The newscasters do not seek to spread good, uplifting, or encouraging stories. It’s just one disastrous, tragic event after another. It’s certainly not by surfing the internet or social media drama. So where does one look? We can only look to the source of all hope, Jesus Christ! Paul the Apostle wrote that if in this life only we have hope, we would be most miserable. How true! Our hope must be in the only One who can give us hope, not only in this life, but for eternity! In looking to God’s Word today for that hope and uplifting, I focus on two verses found in the book of Psalms. The first verse is Psalm 27:14 – “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” The second one has a similar message, Psalm 31:24 – “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” I especially like the Message version of these two verses: “Stay with God! Take heart. Don't quit. I'll say it again: Stay with God,” and “Be brave. Be strong. Don't give up. Expect God to get here soon.” I glean from these two verses the following truths:
In what are you placing your hope today? From whom do you receive strength and the courage to face tomorrow? Jesus has never failed me when I’ve turned to Him with complete trust. Please, let me encourage you today to take hope in the Lord! |
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