Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
And then it was Friday… but the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! were not as loud or as plentiful as they usually are because many people are still in disaster mode and don’t have the enthusiasm, energy or faith to raise their voices in praise. But raising out voices in praise is exactly what we ought to do in dire situations because acknowledging God raises our levels of energy, enthusiasm and faith, despite our negative circumstances.
And to make matters worse, this morning there’s been a technological breakdown with a computing firm called Cloudstrike, which has paralyzed systems and events all over the world. It’s not a hacking or invasion of the system but a technological problem and hopefully by day’s end it will be corrected. But in the meantime many institutions, both large and small cannot carry on their business as usual. Consequently, a large portion of the population has also had their activities curtailed by the outage.
It just shows the tremendous reliance we’ve placed on technology and the worldwide difficulties it causes when something goes awry. But that’s the way of our current world, Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are now ruling the roost. And we’re now experiencing what can happen when we place all our eggs in one fragile basket, for though technology is wonderful when it works properly, but the smallest wrinkle can cause monstrous problems.
We just have to learn to handle those times when technology lets us down. And the first thing we should always do when unexpected situations arise is go to God in prayer for wisdom and strength to handle them. He is our guide and protector and will NEVER lead us down the wrong path. And we have God’s faithful promise of that from way back when Moses said it to the Israelites: ‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’ (Deut. 31:8)
Yes friends that’s the Lord’s ever-faithful promise! And since He does not change, as this commentary tells us: ‘Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the Lord, I change not.” Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” When everything else shifts and changes, you and I are still standing on a solid, unchanging foundation.’ Wow! What assurance we have my brethren!
And furthermore God doesn’t lie, as the Bible assures us: ‘God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?’ (Num. 23:19) That means whatever He promises, or says He’ll do, it will be done! Matter fixed! And when it comes to seeking godly direction, these wise words from the wisest man who ever lived, Cousin Sol, should be our guiding light.
‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy way acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth or straight) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine. My son, despise not the chastisement of the Lord; neither be weary of (detest) his correction: for whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov. 3:5-12)
Oh friends, those are verses to live by! Why? Because they encompass all of what God expects from us! Trusting in Him, and not in ourselves; having a reverential fear of Him and not engaging in evil; honouring Him by being generous in our relationships, first to him, and then to our fellow man; and not despising His correction when we do wrong. If we follow those basic desires of God, then our paths will be straight, our bodies will be strong and healthy, our lives will be prosperous; overall, the Lord will cause His face to shine upon us.
But yuh know what? Our intelligence and information levels have risen so much in the last century, that we no longer focus on the simple things in life, everything now needs to be more sophisticated and complex, otherwise it’s not worthwhile. But friends, the simple things have always been, and will always be the best way to go. And we’ve said that to point out the simple commands that Cousin Sol lays down for the perfect Chrisitan life, but we try to make it much more complicated than it ought to be. And hopefully, this time around, those simple directives will stick in our minds and we’ll put them into action and thus simplify out much too complicated lives. (smile)
Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant to help with our earthly problems. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And if we truly desire divine aid, then we’ve got to set a better example as believers in Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…Jesus lived a simple life for a reason…it was the easiest and best life to live…
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