In Times Like These 

By Caroline Holding

How many of us at this time are beginning to feel anxious and worried about what is happening in our country? The cost of living crisis is making many of us worry about how to pay for our heating, put food on our table and provide a decent life for our families. We can feel consumed and alone in our troubles and don't know where to turn. Job also felt alone and forsaken by God and if we are honest, our problems can mount up so much that it is difficult to find Him amongst our fears. God calls us to follow Him, but do we? Do we feel His assurance that He is always there? In Deuteronomy it says "Be strong and courageous, don’t be afraid of them. For the Lord God is with you, he will not leave you or abandon you". We should have courage and the assurance that God is with you by your side, even when it seems as if He is not there. You are in His hands and He holds you so gently in His love for you and will wipe away your tears. Therefore take courage that you have God on your side against it all. No problem is too big for God!

He will not abandon you. He will provide rest from your problems and be with you wherever you go. When the Israelites escaped their captivity in Egypt, their faith and belief that God would provide for them did not last. The Israelites were soon complaining and crying out for food. Yet God repeatedly provided manna for his people. If He's able to provide food in the middle of a barren, hot desert, then have faith that He will provide for you and your family. The food God provided was from heaven – enough for each day. Yet the Israelites still struggled to have the faith in God’s provision and wanted it their own way. When we call out to God for help – help will be given. He's not going to ignore your cries. The help given may not be in the way we would like, but God does provide.

We all try to have faith that God is in control over all things and has sovereignty over our lives, but when those doubts creep in amongst a burden of problems and fears, where should we go? We should go to God’s Word. We need to turn to His Word to find guidance and help. The Bible is like a guidebook of how to live one’s life. If we follow His Word, then we will become "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers" (Psalm 1:3). If we follow God, we can become like a tree that will be fed and watered so that we can produce useful fruit. In other words if we allow God’s presence into our life, read his Word and be guided by him, we will be nourished and cared for. If we turn our back on Him, we will allow our fears to grow and darkness will enter our lives. When we follow God we will prosper. This does not mean we will always be successful and no longer experience life’s failure and worries. What it does mean is that we must seek God’s approval in the actions and attitudes we have. We then become like a fruit producing tree and find God’s blessing in our lives, at work and in our relationships with one another. Our delight and prosperity of God’s Word and blessing in our lives will deepen our relationship with God.

God will watch over you and how blessed are we to have assurance that God is in our lives during our problems and life’s enjoyment. Where better to finish than with God’s Word for encouragement in Isaiah 46:4:

"Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."