I don’t know about you, but I was hoping for a much smoother start to 2021. That didn’t happen, did it?
And perhaps you are in a situation similar to what I am. Not only did the national issues continue to compound, but new personal challenges emerged as well. As my brother said, “It’s only been eight days, and already it seems like a year.”
A recent Facebook post read, “I’d like to cancel my subscription to 2021. I’ve experienced the free 7-day trial and I’m not interested.”
But that isn’t an option, is it? The year will continue and at times, it will be hard not to get discouraged, down, or depressed. It is also sometimes hard to wrap our head around the love and care of an invisible God when our heart is hammered by a very tangible reality. And it is at times like this, when Bible verses on their own, no matter how encouraging they are, just aren’t enough to see us through. They need a place to rest . . . a foundation to support them.
That’s when we need to have a good memory (or a good written record) about how God has been faithful in the past. In my case, I don’t have to look too far back to see his love and faithfulness, and I cling to that.
Our memories of God’s faithfulness are like rebar, those bars of steel used to reinforce concrete that is under extreme tension. With the addition of each of those unseen and often forgotten rods the foundation gets stronger and stronger.
Unless we have moments when we must rely on God, when we allow him to show his power and love for us, our foundation will be merely the vulnerable concrete of our own strength, and under tension and shaking it will begin to crumble.
So as the year progresses––and it will––and when we hit some more difficult times––which we might––let’s remember the following verses.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1-3)
And Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
There will still be times when the earth will give way, the waters will roar, and the mountains will quake, but let’s remember those other times––those rods of rebar––when God was ever faithful, and we can then know with full assurance that He will continue to be faithful in the future.
And perhaps you are in a situation similar to what I am. Not only did the national issues continue to compound, but new personal challenges emerged as well. As my brother said, “It’s only been eight days, and already it seems like a year.”
A recent Facebook post read, “I’d like to cancel my subscription to 2021. I’ve experienced the free 7-day trial and I’m not interested.”
But that isn’t an option, is it? The year will continue and at times, it will be hard not to get discouraged, down, or depressed. It is also sometimes hard to wrap our head around the love and care of an invisible God when our heart is hammered by a very tangible reality. And it is at times like this, when Bible verses on their own, no matter how encouraging they are, just aren’t enough to see us through. They need a place to rest . . . a foundation to support them.
That’s when we need to have a good memory (or a good written record) about how God has been faithful in the past. In my case, I don’t have to look too far back to see his love and faithfulness, and I cling to that.
Our memories of God’s faithfulness are like rebar, those bars of steel used to reinforce concrete that is under extreme tension. With the addition of each of those unseen and often forgotten rods the foundation gets stronger and stronger.
Unless we have moments when we must rely on God, when we allow him to show his power and love for us, our foundation will be merely the vulnerable concrete of our own strength, and under tension and shaking it will begin to crumble.
So as the year progresses––and it will––and when we hit some more difficult times––which we might––let’s remember the following verses.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1-3)
And Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
There will still be times when the earth will give way, the waters will roar, and the mountains will quake, but let’s remember those other times––those rods of rebar––when God was ever faithful, and we can then know with full assurance that He will continue to be faithful in the future.
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