The world is in chaos. The country of the United States of America is fast crumbling. Moral decay is not only permitted by law but is celebrated publicly. Riots are not squelched. Law and order are not upheld and people actually want the police force to be banished. Many of our "rights" have been taken away. Do these things cause your heart to fear?
It brings great fear to my heart! I won't fault you if you feel fear.
This fear causes me to search for answers. We know that the Word of God tells us that the spirit of fear does not come from God. If it isn't from God, where is it from? From our enemy, of course!
Reading great books, especially true stories of how God works in the lives of real people helps to bring clarity in these times. Read "The Hiding Place" to see how God worked in Corrie ten Boom's life. She was faithful in doing God's will, living the Christian life in perilous times. Even though most of her family lost their lives because of their faithfulness, Corrie also learned to know God's faithfulness to her and her family through it all. This story brings me courage. It doesn't mean I won't face hard things. It means God will be faithful and I can trust Him through any and every circumstance.
I love to think how true and dependable the Word of God is. If we believe it and obey it, there is peace. There is unity. It is the only thing that will bring people together in true unity. We can make excuses why we shouldn't obey certain scriptures but if that is our premise for life, we will be unpeaceful.
I recently read the book Report for Duty. It is the story of a young man who had to report for duty during war but he believed God's Word where it says we are to love. How can we love and kill people simultaneously? It is impossible. He remained true to the Word and was mocked and tortured. He eventually died because of the treatment he received.
This story challenged me in a new way because of the whole quarantine/mask wearing scenario unfolding around me. I believe God's Word to be true when He tells us to obey governors. Many around me are quoting scripture, saying we belong to a different kingdom and we ought to obey God rather than men therefore we don't need to do what our governors tell us. These scriptures jar in my head. What kingdom are you from, that says we disobey God's command to obey governors? What does obeying God rather than men, have to do with this situation? That is for times when man's commands contradict God's laws.
In Report for Duty, these same scriptures were quoted but they brought hardship, not ease, to the young man. He said he was from a different kingdom and could not participate in war. He obeyed every ridiculous command he was given as long as it wasn't contradictory to his belief in scripture. It just seems so puny to hear people around me trying to get out of mask wearing by quoting these scriptures. How does God look at such things?
Honestly, I don't think mask wearing is helpful in the least. But I believe we are to obey governors if they ask us to do so. The way I obey those in authority over me will be the way my children respond to authority.
Thinking about Corrie ten Boom made me remember how she said Americans are not prepared to suffer. That was at least 30 years ago. How much more are we unprepared today?! Here is a letter Corrie wrote that speaks truth to my heart. I often wonder about the teaching on the "rapture". It always feels like false teaching to me, but who am I to question learned pastors?
It is refreshing to read the letter she wrote. She says the Word of God is our anchor for troubled times. We need to systematically read and memorize it to be prepared for tribulation. We also need to keep an appointed time to spend in prayer daily. This is something I fail in! Let's not think we will always have the easy life we enjoy now. Let us prepare our hearts to suffer, even while we enjoy the blessings God is giving us today.
A few months ago I read the scripture where Jesus told John's disciples what all He was doing. He said, "the poor have the gospel preached to them". That has been in my heart and mind ever since. How much can change for the poor when the gospel is preached to them!
Death of a Saloon by Pablo Yoder tells the story of a family who was entrenched in drunkenness and immorality. Then the gospel was preached to them and they believed. The family was transformed from godlessness into people of the Word. They took the Word into their hearts and believed it.
Those are some of my thoughts today. Here is a quote the pastor shared at our church today...
"The greatest miracle you will ever see is a changed life." Merle Burkholder
God is still in the business of miracles! I am so thankful that He never changes! I want to share a few more quotes from Corrie ten Boom. They are so refreshing!
“If God has shown us bad times ahead, it's enough for me that He knows about them. That's why He sometimes shows us things, you know - to tell us that this too is in His hands.”
“There is no panic in Heaven! God has no problems, only plans.”
“There are no 'if's' in God's world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety - let us pray that we may always know it!”
“Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings...It's something we make inside ourselves.”
“Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.”
“In darkness God's truth shines most clear.”
Be refreshed by God's Word today and "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27
