"THE FACTS OF THE MATTER"
"A weekly letter of encouragement to business and professional men and women"
October 20, 2010
Good Morning!
THREE PROMISES OF HOPE WHEN I AM SINKING INTO THE ABYSS OF DEFEAT OR DISPAIR
1) My survival in troubled times: As I write this article, we seem to be in a global crisis over the energy issue. Because there is uncertainty in the air as to the long term implications, it is easy for me to find myself in an anxious state of fear. Will God continue to provide?
And God’s wonderful promise to his children comes back: “You give relief from troubled times. The LORD will not reject his people; he will not abandon his own special possession.” (Psa. 94:13, 14) (See 2 Cor. 4:17, 18; 2 Thes. 1:6-8; Rev. 14:13)
My prayer: “Lord, today, I choose to rest in your promise to take care of your righteous ones. Amen.”
2) My feeling that I am slipping: Here how it plays out for me in my times of temptation and stress: All the ugly stuff seems to surface: Anger, impatience, a nasty tongue and a compounding frustration that leads to the inevitable downward spiral into the abyss. Often it starts out with some rather innocuous irritation that I let get the best of me, and before I know it, I am ricocheting out of control. What usually follows are doubts about my sense of worth, what others think of me, and questioning my worthiness before God.
Yet, He is there to meet me in my moments of crisis: ”I cried out, ‘I'm slipping!’ and your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.” (Psa. 94:18, 19 NLT) (See Psa. 37:23, 24; 119:116, 117; 121:3; Isa. 41:10; Lk. 22:32)
My prayer: “Lord, thank you for your forgiveness and promise of comfort, hope and cheer. By faith, I now receive your provision, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
3) My insecurities and fears, living as I do in an evil world: “Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side— leaders who permit injustice by their laws? They attack the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the LORD is my fortress; my God is a mighty rock where I can hide.” (Psa. 94:20, 21 NLT)
Amidst the fray of cut throat business competition, people all around me are shading the truth, cutting corners, and taking the un-principled easy path. If I dare choose the lonely road of integrity; if I dare speak out against the culture of corruption and injustice if I dare to try and change the system, I am branded and marginalized as some kind of nut, and ejected from the inner circle of the “in” crowd. It a word, it will cost me dearly.
Here is God’s assurance to me: “But the LORD is my fortress; my God is a mighty rock where I can hide.” (Psa. 94:22 NLT) (See Psa. 27:1-3; 59:16, 17; 62:2,6)
My prayer: “Lord, in my moments of perplexity in a world of selfishness and corruption, help me to find my refuge in you, and in you alone.”
CONCLUSION: In Hebrews 13:5, God promises us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” As Oswald Chambers reminds us, “Sometimes it is not the difficulty of life, but the drudgery of it that makes me think God will forsake me…But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God’s assurance behind us [that he will never leave nor forsake us] the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorifying Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life.”
This week may you experience His grace, peace and protection!
R. Dwight Hill
