I always appreciate my Pastors perspective & just had to share this from my March newsletter from our church :)
Tough Times, Tough Faith
By Pastor Wendell Smith
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. 3 You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. 4 So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. 5 If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. 6 Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. 7 Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, 8 adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. James 1:2-8 (MSG)
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Phil 4:11-13 (NIV)
If you live long enough, you will endure many hard times. Life is good, but there are always difficult and challenging things that every earth-dweller encounters. We live on planet earth- a physical realm dominated by sin and darkness, where storms and resistance seem to rule and problems and troubles are commonplace.
The Patriarch Jacob lived one hundred thirty years but said his days were few and evil. King Solomon said that if a man lived many years, let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Jesus prophesied of days coming on the earth when men's hearts will fail them for fear. The Apostles wrote letters and described perilous and stressful times that would come.
In today's global economic crisis, we find ourselves in the middle of one of the most challenging situations many of us have ever experienced in our lifetime. But before we give in to depression, we need to recall that the Bible is filled with hope and faith and an optimistic view of how life should be lived- even in the face of adversity.
Most baby boomers and their children cannot recall many difficult financial years. A few older saints might still be alive who were children during the great depression. Today, we all struggling to varying degrees as we go through the current economic calamity. Some of us have lost jobs, houses, retirement accounts or value of some kind. These kind of hard times can shake our faith and make us ask hard questions but as people of faith, we need the divine perspective to get us through.
The perspective we need is a much more long term one- i.e. one that spans most of human history. In the Bible, for example, there were several famines, many in the Old Testament and a few in the New. But in the midst of each of them the Lord supernaturally provided for His people.
God provided for Abraham in a time of famine.
Isaac sowed and reaped 100 fold in a time of famine
God provided for the prophets Elijah and Elisha and the widow chosen to help them in famine
The Churches of Asia sent aid to Jerusalem and the Judean brethren during a great famine
Financial gurus, wall street brokers, heads of the nation's most prestigious banks and some of the brightest minds of our times are all in a quandary about how to solve the present emergency. It seems that "all the king's horses and all the king's men" cannot put our economy back together again. The same hurricane that is blowing against us is also blowing down the house down next door.
But Jesus said if we obey Him and practice what He says, we will build on a foundation that will weather the storms and remain standing when everything around us is being washed away. If we follow God's divine principles and stay connected with a community of believers who are walking in truth, we will make it through this crisis- just as millions have done before us. Our fathers survived the ancient crises of the Old Testament. Prophets were miraculously provided for during famine. And the early church disciples endured many and varied trials and came through them all victoriously. If they made it we can make it.
From a biblical perspective, how do we get through such severe financial catastrophe?
Remember first, we all need community, a local church of loving friends and family of believers to stand with us. When one is lacking, others provide. In the very first church, there was none that lacked because they met each other's needs out a selfless desire to help.
Believers also have a secret advantage. We have a divine connection with the provision of God Almighty through our prayers. Simple asking evokes simple provision. The same God who multiplied loaves and fishes for Jesus and the disciples, is the same God we serve. Ask and you shall receive!
How important it is also to renew our minds and think God's thoughts when facing a crisis. If we spend our time just meditating on the bad news, we will be discouraged and our faith will be drained. But faith comes when we hear the Word of the Lord, made alive by the Holy Spirit and giving us daily guidance.
Out of the faith base of the Bible, a personal relationship with the Lord and the connections of a community of believers, sprouts another crop that blossoms in the heart of every faith filled follower of Christ. Wisdom comes from God. It comes when we meditate day and night on His Word and it comes from walking with wise men. . One decision can make or break a family's finances or a business's momentum. Don't make major decisions alone, in time of crisis. Seek the Lord, ask for counsel and make sure and careful steps during these times.
Lastly, don't stop doing what got you this far. We tithed by faith trusting our Heavenly Father to keep the windows of heaven open over our lives. We gave and sowed seed into the lives and needs of others. We can now trust that the harvest of what we planted will come back to us. And no one who has given to the poor will be forgotten by God. He Himself will repay anything we have given in His name to those in need. If, in a time of testing, I panic and start to withhold, I run the risk of stopping with life giving flow of faith and love that runs through my life.
There are many practical things each of us can do to walk wisely during times like these but the greatest thing we can do, is position ourselves in faith to maintain our trust in God, Jehovah Jireh, who has always helped us and always will. Going through tough times- ask God to give you tougher faith; fight the good fight of faith and take a stand. The storm will pass. Your foundation will remain and your life will reflect the pleasure of God who rewards those who walk by faith!
