Thursday, February 3, 2011

Listen to God

Our world is changing, and not for the better. In recent days we turn on the T.V. ( our first mistake), and what do we see? The people in the streets in Egypt are rioting and fighting each other, and setting buildings on fire. It was Tunesia last week. Yemen is also in turmoil, and Jordan is changing it's government because of pressure from demonstrators. Chaos seems to be everywhere we look. How do we navigate this? If we are not careful, this can consume us with fear, and anxiety. So what do we do? Well, as Christians we turn to the Word of God. In Proverbs Chapter 1, we are told about Wisdom and her rewards and what she can do, but I love verse 33, it says, " But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil." (NASB). I also love the KJV, it says, "... shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." I believe that God Himself is the author and originator of Wisdom. So I will take this a step further and say this means we should listen to God.

Do you remember ever being afraid as a child and your Mother or Father would take your hand, and you would feel more secure? Let's take this a step farther, Have you ever been in such a turmoil as a child, maybe you have just worked yourself into "a tizzy" and your Father didn't get upset, but to get your attention,he took your face and held it in his hands, and he looked you in the eyes and with a quiet almost whispered voice, he said, "Listen to me." You became quiet, the fear was drained from you. This is what I picture with this verse. If we stay in a close relationship with the Lord, we listen for His voice and instructions for us on a daily basis, we will "dwell" safely with Him. He will "quiet" our hearts. We can be at ease from even the dread of evil.

In Proverbs 3: 25-26 we find some companion verses to these earlier verses. They say," Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. An interesting word in this verse to me is "when". I believe this verse is saying, Don't be surprised to see these evil things happen, they will happen. The scripture says, "when", not "if". We need to prepare our hearts ahead of time for when these things happen!

How do we do we prepare ourselves? We stay close to the Lord. We ask Him to give us His Wisdom and strength to face these coming days. Isaiah 26:3-4 says, " The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. I believe that we have found the key that opens the lock to this question. How do we have a steadfast mind? The second half of the verse tells us. He trust in the Lord!

Nations are in uproar, and eventually who knows, it may reach our shores, but we don't lose heart, we trust in the Lord. We know that no matter what happens, that He is in control. I don't want to sound like "pie in the sky". But even if everything crumbles around us, the ground we stand on falls out from under us, we know that we have a hope for eternity. That even if we lose our lives, that God whom we love and trust, that same God loves us, and He will bring us to our home in heaven with Him one day. So, don't be afraid! He has you by the hand. He has your little face, and He is whispering... Shhh, listen to me, don't be afraid!

2 comments:

  1. Very comforting, given the chaos around us. I'm definitely sharing this one. On FB, and my email ministry! Thank you, JoAnne!

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  2. Thank you Kathey. I am happy for you to share it!

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