As we look ahead at all the problems facing us in this new year, do we see possible solutions, or do they seem too many and too complicated to handle? In the first month alone we have seen abortion laws passed that no one could have imagined, been hit with record low temperatures, seen so much violence and death… and had our government shut down. As we look at today’s headlines, it doesn’t give us much hope that things will get any better any time soon. I thought, surely we have seen times as bad as these before. Curious as to what the headlines were during a time when we were “seeing better days,” I did a little research on the year 1985. These were some of the headlines from back then:
Mexico City Earthquake kills 9,000
The Spread of Aids Increases
Unibomber Kills First Victim
Terrorists Hijack TWA Flight 847
Italian Cruise Liner, Achille Lauro, Hijacked
Solar Vortex Hits Eastern Half of the United States (Record- breaking low temeratures cause one of the coldest winters ever recorded in US history…sound familiar?)
Mikhail Gorbachev Becomes New Leader of the Soviet Union ( He meets with President Reagan and the end of the Cold War begins)
Hurricane Gloria Strikes ( closing the NY Stock Exchange for a day)
Heysel Stadium Disaster (39 football fans killed when the crowd breaks into a fight causing a wall to fall)
British Scientist Discovers a Hole in Earth’s Ozone Layer ( the beginning of global warming?)
As we can see, the stories back then are very much like what is happening today. I remember the eighty’s and, though the economy was good and we enjoyed a time of peace, other problems arose as peace and plenty led to greed and a desire for more. Material gains became an obsession and aids was the biggest fear. People thought it more important that their kid had a certain toy than anything else…and they were willing to fight for them to have it.
Some might say things have gotten much worse in our country today. With the passing of certain laws and so many trying hard to remove God from our schools and government, the future looks bleak to say the least. This made me think of the people of Israel when Moses first led them to the Promised Land. They arrived and sent men in ahead to find out exactly what they were facing. The men came back discouraged by the size and numbers of the men they would have to overtake in order to possess this land. We don’t have a chance, they decided… and so refused to fight. Because of their decision, God led them through the wilderness for forty years.
Then I thought about David. Just a young boy who worked for his father as a shepherd, David had no qualms about facing a giant named Goliath. David saw how big the Philistine soldier was, but he didn’t back down. He had fought off bears and lions protecting his father’s herd…and he knew he would not be facing this giant alone or depending on his own strength. Because of that knowledge, he was able to say to Goliath: ” You come to me with a sword and with a spear, and with a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have denied.”
For many our country’s future looks bleak, but for even more the bleakness and feeling of hopelessness exists on a much deeper, more personal level. Many have lost loved ones, suffered abuse or life-threatening injuries and illness. Every day someone is hurt, rejected, disappointed and heartbroken. The problems seem too big and too impossible to face…and they are…when faced alone.
What the Israelites didn’t realize, or believe, was God’s promise to never leave or forsake them. In every circumstance, He went ahead of them and prepared the way. He still does that for us today. All things work to our good if we only believe and trust Him. Many of our problems come because of our lack of faith and depending on our own strength to solve them. God was right there with the people as they traveled, yet they didn’t trust that He would give them what He’d promised. He parted the sea! What else could He do to prove to them that He was for them and not against them?
David, on the other hand, was able to face the giant, Goliath, without fear of defeat, because he fully trusted that God was in charge and that His will would be done. If only we all could be like David as we face the giants of today…and the rest of our lives.
Christians across the nation in 2016 embraced the verse found in 2 Chronicles 7: 14 If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Do all these problems facing our country right now …or those in our personal lives… mean God hasn’t kept His promise? Or have we, His people, not done as He asked and humbled ourselves, prayed, sought His face and turned away from our evil ways? Let’s not, like the Israelites, let a few obstacles and problems that seem impossible cause us to surrender and refuse to fight. We can’t take down these giants with a slingshot, as David did, but the same power he relied on will prepare the way and take them down for us!
We are told in Ephesians 6: 10 …be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11: Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. !2 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
We know who our enemy is and we know how to defeat him. God has not sent us into battle without protection. He goes before us and prepares the way, but we must be willing to follow. Laws made today can be changed tomorrow. Hate can be cast out by the power of love. Let us put on our armor and go forward like David and take down these giants of doubt and despair in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven… and all the world will know there is a God in America.
