Have you ever been in a situation in which you felt trapped? What did you do? Did you panic, worry, cry out for help…? I often imagine how people who die at the hand of attackers must feel when they were cornered without anyone to help them. My heart wrenches in pain when I hear of young people whose lives are stolen from them by brutal men. Think of the students at Virginia Tech who died at the hands of a nutcase. Imagine how 19-year-old Briana Dennison must have panicked when the-still-at large rapist opened the door of the home in which she was sleeping, snatched her off the couch, and carried her off into the blackness of night. Her body was found a little over a week ago. I followed the outcome of that story as if I knew Briana. While I have never met her, my heart was touched by the injustice she endured and I long to see justice brought to her killer. These stories are morose but they are real, and we live in a world in which human life has lost its sacredness. Many are callous to the pain of human suffering, but there are still people, people like you and me, whose hearts God has touched and who allow ourselves to feel for others.
I have felt much sadness lately as I hear painful stories from people I love. My dear friend who lives in Boston has lost five family members in the space of seven months. Imagine that. The final blow came when her older sister who had been like a mother to her, was found hanging from a tree. I spoke with her recently and I could hear the pain in her voice. I felt helpless and I felt stupid for feeling uncomfortable. When the people we love hurt, we often feel uneasy because we may not know what to say or how to say what we want to say. We’re afraid that our words might come out wrong and cause unintended pain. As a result we clog up and we talk with them in “Bibleze.” Quoting the promises of Scripture is most needful but it must be done with wisdom and care. There are times when people just want you to listen and empathize.
I have empathized with several friends this year because they are in difficult financial straits and their futures seem bleak at best. My dear aunt’s life seemed to hang in the balance before she had to undergo over sixteen hours of surgery. I was scared for her. I was on pins and needles and I was anxious. I pursued God on her behalf, and I while I knew that God heard me, and the many others who called out to Him for her, I was still anxious. There are times when God decides to take good Christians home. We don’t understand it, but it happens. It doesn’t mean that they did not trust God. My friend, Jovan-Justine was a brilliant young woman who became ill and died in the prime of her life. She went to Dallas Seminary and received a Masters in Theology after completing a Ph.D. a few years earlier. She was brilliant and loved the Lord, but she died of cancer. What am I saying? Things happen that we do not understand, and we must encourage those around us the best we can while maintaining a vision of God as Deliverer.
Whether tragedy hits your life or the life of someone you know and love, God is and always will be a mighty deliverer. When you get a picture of God as deliver it changes how you view your circumstances. When you call to God He hears you. When your circumstances are beyond your ability to handle, He cares. God is a God of ability. He is a God of purpose and power. He is mighty and He is strong. His strength is not always evident in the way we expect Him to exude strength, but make no mistake—God is not wishy-washy or incapable. He is not blind and He is not deaf. He cares about you and He knows what you need before you even realize that you have that need. He knows those whose hearts are completely His.
Because we are His, we must not become consumed with anxiety over the economic uncertainly that currently pervades our nation. We live in difficult times and the cost of living has gone up. Health care costs, property taxes, food and gas prices have all increased beyond the wages we bring home. But even so, God is taking care of you and will continue to do so. Every time I talk with someone on the phone and acknowledge that “things are hard,” the Holy Spirit whispers, “but I am taking care of you.” That is the truth. I too have considered the uncertain possibilities and at different times have become downcast. I remember the question David posed to himself, and I become encouraged. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in God.” God is our hope. Our hope cannot and should not be in what we have stashed away in the bank, our health insurance benefits, our assets, or our family. The truth is that we came into this world naked and broke and God has blessed us immensely. We must trust Him regardless of what our situation shows us. God is a deliverer. He delivered you from the grasp of sin and He has ordered your steps when you had no awareness of His hand in your life. Is not God faithful? Is He not good. If you knows how to care for the wild birds that fly above your head each day, then surely He will care for you and me. We must swim against the tide of anxiety and fear, and take courage because our God is an awesome God and He reigns from heaven above with justice and strength. God is your deliver and He will keep you stable and secure in the midst of any storm. Call on Him and He will answer. May He bless your heart today.
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