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In His Own Time

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“Calm thyself … rest thee, sit thee still and trust. God is working out the plan of thy life, thou canst not hurry Him; it will only expend the energy of thy soul to no purpose, if thou allowest its fever to consume thee… in His own time, the best time, ‘He shall give thee the desires of thy heart’ (Psalm 37:4). 

F. B. Meyer’s words were published in 1910. You would think he was speaking to us right here and now. 

Remember the song, “My Favorite Things”? I can soon be calmed and soothed with my favorite things, even in the bad times, like now, the age of War with The Silent Enemy. My friend, Bonnie, lives some twenty miles away in Greenville. We see each other about every six weeks, and we spend the greater part of the day having lunch and talking until there is no breath left within us. We can’t do that now, so we text and encourage with each other with Scripture and daily thoughts. We talk about politics and food! We have great advice! Too bad nobody is listening, for we could solve the problems of the world. Yesterday, Bonnie baked homemade cinnamon buns. She even went so far as to send me a picture and (like Tom Hanks in “You’ve Got Mail”) she said, “I would send you a bouquet (at least six) of these delicious Cinnamon Buns…” My mouth still waters…

We’re living in some dark days. While we are social-distancing in our own safe places, we constantly receive troubling word from the outside world. We find ourselves comparing this to Moses and God's dealing with Pharaoh, as our own people drop like flies in this awful scourge, somehow forgetting that Paul's beloved son in the faith, told us that "in the last days perilous times shall come" (I Timothy 3:1). I believe they are here!

 It gives us pause to stop and recall how good it used to be to step outside, breathe in some fresh air and do all the things that once came naturally. Visit a friend, a grandchild, physically attend church, shake hands and even hug a loved one. It was nothing to drive to the Mall. What? That Mall is closed? Doors locked! Not Macy’s and Dillard’s and J. C. Penney. Certainly not the food hall, the hair salons, and all the novelty shops. Have we lost control of our lifestyle? Yet how trivial it all sounds now. Our days are condensed to three things unless we get considerably creative. The darkness of the hour drains us of hope if we’re not careful, and we tend to become sinister as we listen to those who would frustrate the Grace of God. Remember, He has the plan. The wicked virus plagues our land; the vicious ones attack our President and those he has appointed to help see us through these hard times, who punch when our people are tired and weary and utter disgraceful threats when they labor to put one foot in front of the other... think not that God is not familiar with this whole scene.  If only we could lay hold on the truth that the battle is not ours. It belongs to Him.

We hear this loud and clear from Psalm 112:  “the desires of the wicked shall perish."

There are those in our country who have chosen this dark hour to work their mischief. The nations, the corrupt politicians are but men. They are not God, neither do they possess the nature of God. They think they do. They have a rude awakening for they cannot win in a fight with our Mighty God and His Plan for our future.

In this darkest hour, be encouraged, my friend, for if you know Him, you can be sure that He is here with us. Not one word of all His good promise has failed (I Kings 8:56).

And it will not be dark forever. King David (Shepherd, Palmist, King) taught us that the Lord God has something fundamentally crucial to offer us in times like these. David said,
For thou wilt light my candle;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
Psalm 18:28

I knew when I read this verse that the answer to our Covid-19 scourge was right here in this Psalm. Not only can we face the darkest hour, but the Lord our God will light our candle. The Light of the Lord Jesus Christ will enlighten the darkness that is all about us. That’s what He does. That’s Who He is. It’s not about us. It’s about Him and what He has for us in these moments. I choose to listen to Him.




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