God of Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop. In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.”
1 Corinthians 14:30-33 NLT

Paul continues with his theme about orderly worship in church meetings. These verses from 1 Corinthians 14 refer to the gift of prophecy and how it should be used in a public setting. Such thoughts seem a bit unrealistic in today’s meetings because it is unusual, at least in Western churches, to have so many words of prophecy that there would be a need to queue up to bring them. Some years ago, I remember a Charismatic conference where the leaders invited people to share words of prophecy they felt God had given them. They came, one after another, in good order, and the leadership tested each for relevance and whether they were from God. But I have never experienced such a time since. Today, church leaders would have mixed feelings, should a prophetic message be given in a church service. Some would be dismayed that the order of events was being disrupted. Others would stop the proceedings to hear what was being said, and, if necessary, change course to accommodate the message. The problem today is what it has always been: is the prophetic message a genuine word from God, or is it something someone has made up because it seems to fit the occasion?

But back to Paul’s order of service. He encouraged people to bring prophetic messages in an orderly way, “so that everyone will learn and be encouraged”. He went on to explain that “ … the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (1 Corinthians 14:32 KJV). In other words, if someone was speaking, then the prophet should hold onto their word until it was a suitable time to bring it. And Paul then reminded the believers in Corinth that no disorder originates from God, because He is a God of peace. 

Thinking of people today, chaos and disorder dictate many a life. Stories of a chaotic lifestyle emerge all the time in the news and elsewhere, and people who work in communities that lack social cohesion have many tales to tell about the predicaments people get into. Such tales often arise because people lack a moral compass to guide their lives, or because bad parenting propagates the same problems in the next generation. For others, they find themselves in a situation through no fault of their own. But in church life, there will be no disorder, and God’s peace will be found. Jesus said to His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Paul said to the Colossians, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). So immediately, we can draw a conclusion. If there is chaos and disorder in a church meeting, then perhaps Jesus and His peace are absent.

“The peace of God,
which transcends all understanding“

But for us pilgrims, living in a world that is never far from chaos, we have words of comfort left to us by Paul in another epistle. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). We are citizens of God’s Kingdom, where there is no disorder. In fact, it is the most ordered environment we are ever likely to find. These two verses must be engraved in our hearts and minds, and they will help us navigate any situation we are likely to encounter. The world around us may be falling apart, with people generally paralysed with fear and anxiety, but we stand strong, guarded in every way as we remain in Jesus.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your peace in our hearts, always there by Your grace and all that Jesus has done for us. Thank You. Amen.

Fears

Posted on by korgrocker

“So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.”
2 Kings 6:14 NLT

Elisha was in trouble. The king of Aram was annoyed with him, because every time the Arameans made a plan to defeat Israel in the war that was going on, Elisha, “the man of God” got to hear about it and he warned Israel’s king accordingly. The Aramean king was convinced that he had a traitor amongst his officers and we read their defence, ““It’s not us, my Lord the king,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!”” (2 Kings 6:12). Eventually the Aramean king found out where Elisha was staying, and in the night he sent a “great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city“. Their intent was to capture him and, I suspect, do him harm. Surely a time for fear and a dilemma for the inhabitants of Dothan, where Elisha was staying. 

Fast forward to 21st Century Planet Earth. News headlines of wars and threats abound. Just this morning the aftermath of the Israel/Iran spat continues with doomsday reports of Iran’s nuclear capability. The attempts by Israel to eliminate Hamas terrorists continues. The war between an aggressive Russia and Ukraine rumbles on into its third year. Press reports in the UK highlight the pitiful state of our nation’s defence capabilities. Tensions between different ethnic groups living in British occasionally boil over into strife. There has even been advice saying that households should keep a sum on money in cash available just in case there are problems with the banking system. Surely a time for fear and a dilemma for the inhabitants of the British Isles, where we stay. 

In Israel back in Elisha’s days, and in the UK today the problem is the same. We have a world riddled with evil and wickedness and the sins of mankind seem to have no bounds. And law-abiding citizens would be forgiven for quaking in fear and trepidation about what might happen next. So how should we pilgrims react in such a febrile world? The key is in what happens next in the story of Elish and the Arameans.

Elisha had a young servant and we read in 2 Kings 6:15, “When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha”. And then we read in the next two verses, ““Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire“. 

A quote from David Pawson: “I think sometimes we panic because we are only seeing what’s happening in the world that everybody else sees; if only we could see God’s point of view and see what’s happening in his sight. God is still on the throne. He is at peace, not worried about what is happening. It’s all going his way and he will end it all. When we read all the stark headlines in the press we get panicky. We say, ‘It’s coming to an end, it’s dreadful!’  Lord, open their eyes that they may see the real situation from God’s point of view“. On the face of it, world events at the moment are potentially scary in their outcomes. And on many people’s lips, even Christians, there is a plethora of “what if’s”. What if Russia attacks Poland? What if Iran develops a nuclear missile? What if …. (put in you own particular fear). But as David Pawson said, “God is still on His throne”. In His High Priestly prayer, Jesus said, “And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come” (Matthew 24:6-8). The world is going through a birthing process just now, and has been for centuries. 

So, how should we pilgrims feel and respond. This is a time for God’s people to rise up and counter the stories of anxiety and worry, “what if’s” and hopelessness, fear and panic. We note two things from our experience as children of God. Firstly God has said, “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Jesus Himself said “ …  And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b). Secondly, we are on a mission to tell others of God’s saving grace. A dog-walker I spoke to recently confessed to feeling hopeless and fearful in a world she thought was out of control, but at the same time she refused to believe that God had a remedy. People around us are without hope and it affects their ability to function as God intended, leaving them paralysed with anxiety and fear. 

We pilgrims stand on the promises of God. I recently saw a YouTube clip of a very emotional news report filed by a young Israeli journalist who had found many recent testimonies of miracles in the lives of Israeli men and women. And at the end she was asked how people should pray for her nation. Her reply was for people to pray Psalm 91 over Israel. The Psalm starts, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him”. We pilgrims rise up and echo the words of the writer to the Hebrews, “So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”” (Hebrews 13:6). One day, sooner or later, we will be called to our Heavenly home, where we are assured of a tremendous welcome. So rather than worry and stress over the state of the world, we echo the words at the end of the Book of Revelation, “Come Lord Jesus”. 

Dear Father God. We thank You for Your presence in this world, holding back the forces of evil that would destroy everyone, given the opportunity. But we are not a people who hide their heads in the sand and hope everything will get better. We pray for world events with a passion fired and fuelled by our faith and trust in You and we worship and praise You today. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

The Ropes of Death

Posted on by korgrocker

“The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.”
Psalm 18:4-6 NLT

David painted a picture of a life-threatening situation with phrases like “ropes of death” and “floods of destruction”. But he followed his distressful experiences with cries and prayers for help which God heard from Heaven. Looking back at some of David’s experiences while being chased around the Middle East by King Saul, when he was forced to take refuge in all sorts of hideaways, we can appreciate the strength of his feelings. We can read about one of David’s experiences in 1 Samuel 23:7-8, “Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. “Good!” he exclaimed. “We’ve got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!” So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men“. Because of the threat of being betrayed by the inhabitants of this walled city, and we read on, “So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him” (1 Samuel 23:13-14). So, in Psalm 18 David expressed poetically the close experience that he had had with death, if Saul had captured him. 

But take these verses in Psalm 18 about “ropes of death” and “floods of destruction” and overlay them on our lives today. First of all, the great majority of us do not walk about in fear that a 21st Century equivalent of King Saul is after us. But we do have many fears that threaten to do the same. Fears of financial ruin because of the loss of employment. Fears of an early death due to illness or disease. Fears of homelessness because our landlord wants to increase the rent beyond what we can afford. Fears of …. (add your own selection). And the result of our fears is that we worry. Sadly, it is almost as a last resort that we follow David’s example and “[cry] out to the Lord” and “pray to … God for help”. Jesus had some sound advice in His Sermon on the Mount. We read in Matthew 6:25-27, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” And the chapter finishes with “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today“.

Jesus wasn’t saying that we, as believers, will be immune from the problems that blight the lives of so many. Instead He said we should follow God and His ways, because by doing so we will find ourselves on a pathway along which our worries and anxieties will diminish. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus“. 

 “Ropes of death” and “floods of destruction” can never get in the way of our relationship with God. Yes, we may experience many troubles in this world, but Jesus said that He had overcome the world. Even now, there may be those amongst us who feel as though they are facing a fork in the road. To the left is the route of worry and anxiety, with our view firmly fixed on all the trials and troubles this world has to our doors. To the right is God’s way, the right way, where the trials and troubles still exist but we lift our eyes upwards to God and experience His peace and provision. He may or may not do something about our worldly situation but instead He will stand with us as we face our problems. Jesus said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31-33). So there we have it.  “Ropes of death” and “floods of destruction” don’t appear in the Kingdom of God.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your provision and love. Regardless of our circumstances, we will worship You this day and every day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Lord My Protector

Posted on by korgrocker

“I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors—rescue me! If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion, tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.”
Psalm 7:1-2 NLT

The introduction to this Psalm seems to be focussed on someone called “Cush the Benjamite”. Perhaps David had been having some problems with him, whoever he was, but we don’t find mention of him anywhere else in the Bible. David again was writing about problems he was having with people around him, a recurring theme in the previous few Psalms. David prayed that God would save him from his “persecutors”, so presumably this man Cush was their ringleader. 

What was there about David that caused him to spend so much time anxious and worried, even physically sick, because of those who didn’t like him and who he perceived, rightly or wrongly, as wanting to do him harm? In Psalm 7:2, one of today’s verses, he even compared the attacks of these people as being like a mauling from a wild animal. Today, with our propensity to label people, we might assign a name to David’s reaction to others as being a “social anxiety disorder”. Perhaps he was very insecure, afraid of what others thought of him. And yet this was the rising royal star of whom songs were sung, “This was their song: “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!”” (1 Samuel 18:7). Fearless in battle, giant killer, musician, God-worshiper – all these terms were used about David, and yet here he was, so much apparently going for him, but praying to God for relief from his persecutors.

What can we pilgrims learn from these Psalms? From David’s pen flowed verse after verse asking God for protection, for healing, for rescue from enemies, and, as we read today, safety from his “persecutors”. David of course was doing the right thing by bringing his concerns to God. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you“, but David, long before Peter wrote anything, knew that his Lord cared for him. But that didn’t stop him descending into the pits of worry and anxiety when the going got tough. We pilgrims won’t be immune from the cares of this world either. There will be times when we have to take a stand on an issue that will not win us any friends. It is not inconceivable that we may even have to stand in a court of law defending our actions over an important issue where the secular laws contradict God’s higher laws. Sometimes being a Christian will mean swimming against the tide of public opinion, but there is one factor that will sustain us through the hard times, and that is our status as children of God. We are citizens of God’s Kingdom, and it is to Him that we are accountable. 

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 118:7, “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”. Sounds good to our ears, but there will be times when we succumb to our humanity and worry about what other people are saying about us. Pilgrims remain close to God, “trying to live at peace with everyone”, and weathering the storms of life as and when problems emerge. We stand firm, because God is on our side. He will protect our souls until the glorious day when we pass through the gates of Heaven into His presence.

Father God. You know the pain and distress that comes from living in this evil world, but, as Jesus said, You have overcome the world. Thank You that we have security in You, this day and forever. Amen. 

Pray for Paul

Posted on by korgrocker

“Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem. Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other.”
Romans 15:30-32 NLT

Paul writes that he needs prayer. He firstly asks for his readers to join his “struggle” by praying for him. What “struggle” was it that he was experiencing? As we read through Paul’s experiences in the book of Acts, we see a struggle emerging between the wonderful things, miracles of healings and so on, that God was doing through Paul, and the forces of the enemy doing their utmost to shut Paul down. People were being saved in droves, churches were being established, lives were being transformed. It’s no wonder he was experiencing a “struggle”. But he wasn’t so complacent that he failed, humbly, to request prayer. We read in James 5:16, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results“. It wasn’t just James that knew the truth of the power of prayer. Paul was very much aware of it as well. 

Paul appealed to the Roman believers’ love for him, which he knew had been given to them through the Holy Spirit. God’s love is truly amazing, because it cuts right across distance, ethnicity, social standing, and everything else that would otherwise divide believers. The love that prefers the needs of another person over our own. The love that penetrates even the most insensitive of human hearts. And the love spawned by the Holy Spirit in their very beings motivated them to pray earnestly for Paul. 

A specific need that Paul had was for safety from the attacks he expected would develop against him when he reached Jerusalem. And that was a very real threat, as we read in Acts 23:20-21, “Paul’s nephew told him [the commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem], “Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul before the high council tomorrow, pretending they want to get some more information. But don’t do it! There are more than forty men hiding along the way ready to ambush him. They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent“”. But as we know, as the story unfolded in Acts 23, Paul was indeed kept safe, so their prayers were answered.

Lastly, Paul asked for prayer that the donation from the Macedonians that he was taking to Jerusalem would be accepted by the believers there. It would have been a bitter-sweet gift for the believers of Jewish origin, that Gentiles in another place were supplying their needs. So Paul’s prayer was that there would be no proud rejection due to the Jew/Gentile divide.

Paul finished these two verses with the conclusion that once the prayers had been offered up on his behalf, he would be able to journey to Rome with a joyful heart, knowing his job in Jerusalem was done.

We pilgrims also have prayer needs. But how often do we continue to suffer in silence, too proud to ask for prayer? We continue to experience pains and aches, dosing ourselves with various pills and potions, when what we should do is pick up the phone and call a Christian friend, asking for prayer. Or we may be facing into family or work issues that are driving us to distraction. Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done“. We pray for our needs and worries and involve our brothers and sisters as Paul did. We can never pray too much!

Father God. We know that prayer changes things. Please forgive us for neglecting Your Heavenly hotline when we have needs. We know that you hear our prayers and the prayers of our brothers and sisters. Thank You. Amen.

Hard Work and Worry

Posted on by korgrocker

“It is useless for you to work so hard
    from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
    for God gives rest to his loved ones.”
Psalm 127:2 NLT

Another gem from Solomon’s pen. Our capitalistic and materialistic society is based to a large extent on greed, because we are encouraged by our “work ethic” to get better paid jobs, or work longer hours. And by so doing we end up earning more money which we can then spend on more “stuff”. A cynical point of view? Perhaps. But Solomon was pointing out that we sometimes get our priorities wrong, becoming driven by anxiety, just to obtain food to eat. His was a different, poorer, society of course, and food was a basic commodity often in short supply. But we so often, in these modern and enlightened days, hassle along, driven by our own efforts, instead of realigning our priorities to God’s ways. 

Jesus picked up this theme in Matthew 6:25-27, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” On my early morning prayer walk today, just as it was getting light, hundreds of geese flew overhead, silhouetted and just visible against the greyness of an overcast sky. The ragged V’s, the honking and squeaking. A corporate outing of beautiful birds heading for their next feeding grounds. Jesus was right – their Heavenly Father created them to heed His voice about the supply of food. And Jesus brought into His teaching the concept that we have our priorities all wrong. Instead of pursuing the business of our amazing Creator God, enjoying the abundant life that He has provided for us, we worry and hassle after more mundane things, like what we will eat or what we will wear. Jesus said we are “far more valuable” to God than birds so why do we worry? 

God has promised us rest. Hebrews 4 starts, “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.” But what is the rest Solomon mentioned, and the writer of the Hebrews epistle alludes to? The rest promised by God to Christians is in two parts – the peace of our relation with God in this life, and eternal life with Him in the life to come. So when we worry we are effectively preferring to trust our own efforts, thereby rejecting God’s offer of rest. 

So we work hard at the tasks God has given us – no place for laziness in His Kingdom – but within the context of experiencing His rest at the same time. Our priorities are clear. And peace descends, flushing away the cares of life.

Better Times

Posted on by korgrocker

Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, Lord. You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.
Psalm 4:6-8 NLT

Why is it that we are always looking for better times? Always striving for something better than what we already have. The television constantly bombards us with strident demands to get this gadget, or that new car, a cord-less jet washer, a hi-tech wonder mattress, or try a new type of food and so on. An endless list of non-essentials. In our comfortable lives we are apparently unsatisfied, or so the media would like to tell us. 

In the Psalmist David’s days, the poor people really did need better times. Subsistence farming was precarious, to say the least, and a bad harvest could result in starvation. The people of that day must always have been yearning for better days, where they could accumulate something to tide them over when times got hard. The prospect of God smiling upon them gave them a picture of benevolence, of a gracious and generous God, always ready and willing to lavish upon them all they needed in bountiful supply. But David pointed out to them something better. A life of “greater joy” because God’s love was sufficient. A life of safety was there “under the shadow of His wings”. Joy and peace were, and still are, eternal.

But back to 21st Century Britain. Currently we are in the grip of rising energy costs, of food and fuel shortages caused by a lack of transport drivers. And people are anxious. Wondering if they can afford to heat their homes, or obtain their favourite foods or a supply of toilet rolls. Wondering about “better times”. Anxiety about the future drives the conversations in the pub, at the bus stop, in the street. I don’t know about you, but the God I know promised to meet all my “needs”. Not my “wants”, I should add. Not luxuries such as that “useful” gadget or that new car. 

As recorded in Matthew 6:31-34, Jesus said, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”. In other words, get your priorities right. Focus on God’s kingdom, living a righteous life, and consequently allow Him to supply what we need. As for striving for better times, we need to follow the example of the Apostle Paul. He said in his Epistle to the Philippians 4:11-13, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”  That about sums it up. If we can find contentment in our lives through our relationship with God, then we have found something special – the “greater joy” David was talking about in his Psalm. In that place we will find peace and a sound sleep, both qualities that escape so many. Let’s not be in their number.

Yo-Yo

Posted on by korgrocker

“Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May Your glory shine over all the earth.
My enemies have set a trap for me. I am weary from distress. They have dug a deep pit in my path, but they themselves have fallen into it.” Psalms‬ ‭57:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Psalm 57 is a “Yo-Yo” set of verses. David’s thoughts, captured in this Psalm, seem to bounce between praise to God and despair about his predicament. He’s on the run again, and Saul nearly catches him this time. You can just imagine him and his men holding their breath as Saul’s soldiers pass by. And we read that Saul was even within reach of David as he “relieved himself” in the same cave in which David was hiding.

In today’s Western society it is difficult to relate to the dangers David faced into, almost on a daily basis, as he tried to keep out of Saul’s way. Most of us do not experience threats to our lives. But we do experience difficulties in which God’s help is just as important as it was in David’s circumstances. As I write, the fallout from Brexit and the pandemic are manifesting themselves in all sorts of societal problems. Security of food and road fuel supplies are under threat. Energy prices have rocketed. We are constantly being told that the NHS cannot cope with the demands being made of it. People are anxious and nervous about the future. Their worlds have been shaken and there seems to be no remedy in sight. So what do we do? We do what David did. Share our worries and concerns with our loving Heavenly Father, and concentrate of praising Him. Verse 5, “Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the earth” is repeated again in verse 11. Why? Because that was David’s heart. No matter what he was facing into, the important bit was putting God in His rightful place.

So are we anxious today? 1 Peter 5:7 reads, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Jesus said in John 16:33, “…Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” We have a choice – accept God’s loving care as He “overcomes the world” or worry ourselves into an early grave. Stark language I know but David went on to become Israel’s greatest king. What will we achieve as God’s overcomers?