Would anyone disagree that tough times are upon us?

Maybe we’ve not seen men in suits lined up around the block at the soup kitchen yet but just how far away do you think it is?

I was thinking this morning about the people of our Nation. I was thinking about their upbringing and wondering to myself just how these times are going to affect those that have grown up relatively sheltered from tough times.

I’ve seen a lot of panicked people over the past few weeks. People stressing over the high price of gas when they can find it. I’m no spring chicken at 39 but no one my age is old enough to have any recollection of waiting in line 3 hours for gas or being rationed to a few gallons once you get to the pump.

Trucks are parking and drivers are taking other jobs if they can find them because they simply can’t earn a living anymore driving their trucks!

Unemployment is creeping up on us. People are shopping less, driving less, eating less, and really looking to the bare necessities as they struggle to get through these tough times. Once lively businesses are now struggling to pay the rent, meet payroll, and survive. Banks are crashing and no one is loaning money as they struggle to remain in business.

All this has a dire effect on the middle-class citizen who is dependent on our financial system to keep going. Most of us don’t have much of a savings to speak of and depend on our jobs from week to week to pay our bills, buy groceries, and get our children to school.

This brings me to my point and something we all need to remember as Christians; We depend on ourselves and our jobs to get through but who should we really be depending on? Does it take a crisis to wake us up? Look at all the times before, we work hard, make more money, but somehow it just seems to be gone before next payday. All the while God was showing us that no matter how secure we consider our jobs it does not sustain us. We need to come to the place of faith where no matter how what goes on around us, we are going to stand on faith and believe that we are God’s children and he will take care of us through it all. We need to realize that we have placed our faith in our jobs, our employers, ourselves and our ability to work. We have it all wrong! I don’t mean sit down and say do it Lord. I mean to stop looking to yourself and start looking to God. He WILL take care of you and your family. Just trust him completely, face the tough times ahead knowing your Father in Heaven wants to sustain you and make an example of your faith if you will only let him.

I pray for you and ask God to pour out special blessings on his children at this time. May we all have the boldness to stand and testify that we got through this time not because of ourselves, but by the grace of God.

-John

Posted under FROM THE HEART