June 3, 2020 – Click here to listen
I take guitar lessons online and the instructor yesterday admitted to all his many thousands of students that he had been a victim of anxiety most of his life. He went on to say that he is really suffering with it right now. My wife even mentioned that with all that is going on that she was on edge. I imagine much of the world feels the same. We are in the midst of an all-out demonic assault. With the virus, economic ruin, riots and looting, not to mention the continuous vicious hate-filled political attacks on our President, it is understandable.
President Trump ordered a massive presence of police and national guardsmen and the violence and looting were demonstrably less last night; however the media is making mincemeat of him for restoring order calling him a dictator and so on. It seems they want violence and looting and for good reason Biden is said to be leading in all primary states in polling. Of course the polls are being conducted by the same news organizations that hate him, so only one actually knows the truth and that would be God.
I told my wife and wrote my guitar instructor to take heart. God is still on the throne and is fully aware of all that is transpiring. We must maintain our faith in Him that He will not abandon us. We must understand that we are His children and He loves us with a love that surpasses all understanding and through Him we will get through this.
I have faced far worse than what we are experiencing right now in my life and I got through it. In fact I not only survived but I thrived. I think that God allows us to experience various trials in life to prepare us for the cruel and very difficult times. I was homeless and lived on the mean streets for seven long years. It was very dangerous, and I had seen many street people die. I was alone with no friends or family. I had no money and was addicted to illegal drugs, which necessitated a life of crime in order to feed the demons that craved more and more drugs. I was constantly paranoid and when I was out and about on the street, I was in constant danger of being arrested and hauled back to prison, overdosing on drugs, or being killed by a rival drug dealer or a nutty street person.
Worst of all I did not know Jesus Christ as my Savior which translated into no hope and suicidal tendencies. The word “anxiety” seems too tame to describe my daily mindset. It was just hopeless paranoia akin to waiting for the guillotine to fall at any second.
God looked down on my dilemma and I looked up and at last surrendered to Him. That’s when my life changed for the better. and I decided to follow Him instead of the world. Over the decades God blessed me with 50 years of marriage, 3 sons, 3 daughters-in-law, and 7 grandchildren, all of whom are happy Christians. If that wasn’t enough, He allowed me financial success and stability.
It’s hard to believe that my living on the street days occurred over 50 years ago; I remember it as though it happened yesterday. After the 9/11 terrorists hit our country, my entire company was panic stricken. I assembled the entire management team and when I looked around the room most everyone was wide-eyed, and their faces were a sickly pale color. They were frightened out of their wits. I actually laughed aloud and told them this was nothing. Try walking down the street and seeing someone who had frozen to death the night before laying their dead as a hammer and just walking around them without a second thought about it. I told them we would get through this and come out stronger than we were before, and we did.
It is the hard lessons in life that are most helpful at times like this. As bad as everything seems at any given moment, God who defines good will prevail. It’s like riding out a hurricane and after it moves on seeing the tropical blue sky and white puffy clouds appear. I know that with God at my side I can make it through this and anything else thrown at me. So my dear friends take heart. Though we cannot see the way to heal our divisive country, God can and has promised never to abandon us and most assuredly things will turn out just fine for all those who love the Lord. Keep the faith dear brothers and sisters. Don’t insult God by filling your hearts with anxiety; instead fill it with faith and put your burden(s) on Him . . .
Phil 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.