With No Apologies

I am a Christian. I am unashamedly, unabashedly, wholeheartedly Christian and have been most of my life. It was not something that was 'forced' upon me by my parents. It was a conscious decision that I made and it was a decision that has never let me down. I provide this as a basis for what follows. There is much that is happening in America and the world right now that is of concern for us all. The federal government in the United States is engaged in the most blatant unconstitutional legislative crafting that has ever been attempted. It is not the first, but it is the most blatant. If the 'health care reform' passes, we can kiss the ability to choose our own health insurance good bye. If that reform passes, Tax and Ripoff.......OK Cap and Trade will not be far behind and there goes the rest of our freedoms. At least that is part of what we are being told. I do believe that both of these pieces of legislation are disasters in the making, based on lies and agendas that have nothing to do with helping those who really need help. For the EPA to declare that what we exhale every time we breathe a danger to us, the same gas that all plant life on earth needs to survive, is beyond stupid.

But I am not writing this to argue statistics, science, pseud-science, junk science, or left-wing/right-wing looniness. I am writing to encourage those who are also Christians, who are looking at what is happening and finding that they feel scared or angry about what they see/hear. Remember, God is in control. Nothing is happening that God does not know nor that God cannot work to our good (Romans 8:28). Think about when David was running from King Saul, who wanted to kill him. David was hiding in caves, aligning himself to foreign kings, and anything else that he could to survive and not only just for himself but for those who followed him and all their families as well. David wrote many Psalms about his time on the run where he questioned God about why he had to endure being on the run, where he asked God to stop those who sought his life, where he asked God to just make things better, and yet no matter how woeful the Psalms began, by the end, David always praised God. He was honest about what he was feeling and what he was experiencing, but he was also honest in recognizing Who was in control of the situation and giving praises to that One for all the many blessings that had been given and all the blessings yet to come. Should we, as His children, do anything less?

Many people are experiencing unemployment. We are facing the fall out from that in my own household as my husband was fired from his job in October. But God has taken care of us, just like He always does. Maybe your situation is much bleaker in that you have no income now because of unemployment. There are places where you can access help in any community in which you live. Churches, charitable organizations, townships, all have ways of helping out those who are in need. But you have to be brave enough to ask for it and patient enough to go through the process to get the help you need.

Sometimes God allows such circumstances in our lives in order to get our attention and to get us to lean more on Him and less on our selves. It is true that when things are going well, we can get complacent about our faith. We can get sloppy with our prayer life and Bible reading. I have often said that God has to hit me up the side of my head with a 2X4 to get my attention. Well, guess what folks, He has hit all of America up the side of the head this time. But do not despair. Do not be discouraged (where have you seen those words before, try numerous places in the Bible). God IS still in control and will always be so. Trust in Him. Pray like you have never prayed before and ask for the wisdom you need for the facing of these days. Ask for wisdom for our lawmakers. Prayer is powerful and the more people who are praying, the more power is released. Trust that God will take care of you and yours and that He will deliver on His promises. He is has never, ever, ever reneged on a promise. He never will. You have said that you trust Him. Put that to work. What have you got to lose?