Unshakeable Faith For Uncertain Times

Unshakeable Faith For Uncertain Times
John R. Petrilli

If someone had told us a year ago that our society was headed for a culture shock of the magnitude we have seen in the past nine months, we never would have believed them. Oh yes, those on the inside of the loop probably saw a lot of it coming but couldn’t find any way they could avert it, and likely assumed that to sound the alarm would result in unnecessary panic over the inevitable. So here we stand at the dawn of 2009 with a three-headed economic grim reaper staring us in the face: a mortgage crisis of epidemic proportions, a banking crisis unparalleled since the Great Depression, and a Stock Market in virtual free fall.

We’ve had crises before, and have weathered those storms admirably. But the components, breadth, depth and complexity of this current state of affairs is taking its toll. Tens of thousands have lost their jobs, record numbers of foreclosures on homes, major financial institutions collapsing, businesses closing down and credit virtually unavailable. These aspects of the American predicament are enough to daunt and dismay the heartiest, most optimistic among us. For the first time in over seven decades, Americans face a recession so deep, insidious, and unresponsive to stimuli that it could easily roll over into a full blown depression at any time.

As I pondered the disturbing current state of affairs my mind turned heavenward, from which I heard God speak inaudibly yet distinctly to me, “I’m going to take care of My people.”

During a recent walk through Psalm 46 it came to my attention that God truly is in control. He CAN be trusted to take care of His own in times of crisis. Psalm 46 describes three crisis scenarios and how God delivers His people in and through each one of them.


UNSHAKEABLE FAITH IN GOD GIVES US SAFETY, STRENGTH AND SECURITY DURING TIMES OF NATURAL DISASTER. [1-3]

The new millennium may not have brought in a computer calendar glitch that threatened to dismantle and disable global economies, but it did bring in an unprecedented wave of cataclysmic events. These events played no favorites as numerous continents sustained severe blows from the sometimes uncontrollable forces of nature. Tens of thousands died and millions were left homeless by towering tsunamis, devastating earthquakes, and category five hurricanes. Trillions of dollars in property damages and hordes of dislocated people were additional outcomes of these tragedies.

It times like these that try men’s souls, and we are prone to look heavenward and ask, “Why?” While the answer to that question remains to be answered someday ahead in the counsels of eternity, what we do have to deal with is just how to survive such catastrophes and move forward.

The Psalmist declares that the God Whom he serves is a place of safety (“refuge”), strength, and ultimate security (“help in time of trouble”). With his trust firmly placed in the One Who is sovereign over all of nature, he finds a place of rest and courage in the midst of geophysical upheaval (2). He cites a variety of cataclysmic disasters that are incapable of unnerving him, including earthquakes (“though the earth give way”), tidal waves (“though the seas foam and roar”), and volcanoes (“mountains quake with their surging”). This God is not only available during times of crisis, but ever-present in all seasons and circumstances of live; and especially so in times of great disaster and human suffering. While He may not send a crack fleet of angels down to the rescue scene, He may send His help in the form of relief agencies that bear the Name or display the practical love of His Son.

Jesus says that these kinds of global events will increase in intensity and advance in frequency as time winds down on the prophetic clock. Prior to His return, the earth will experience a tremendous spike in cataclysmic events, leaving earth’s inhabitants in a state of shock and resulting in epidemic levels of death by heart attacks. “It will seem like all hell has broken loose … the earth and sea in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking” (Luke 21:25-26, Message). “Men’s courage will fail completely as they realize what is threatening the world, for the very powers of heaven will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26, Phillips).

But even earthquakes on a global scale should not unnerve the trusting disciple who knows that His God is in control all the way. “There will be earthquakes and famines in various places” (Mark 13:8). But even if the upper atmosphere vanishes out of sight, the one who places his complete trust in God and His word will stand victorious in the end. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31).


UNSHAKEABLE FAITH IN GOD GIVES US SAFETY, STRENGTH AND SECURITY BECAUSE HE RULES AN UNSTABLE EARTH FROM A PERFECTLY PEACEFUL HEAVEN. [4-5]

During times of crisis when local and regional networks cannot handle the demand for assistance, communities and even nations reach for outside help. This is a natural matter of course, and often the difference between survival and total annihilation. The response generated from the surrounding communities or nations often determines which way the scales will tip with regard to the outcome.

How natural, then, for the Psalmist who is a believer in God to reach upward towards heaven for outside help. And reach he did. He knew Who was the true source of deliverance, the only One Who could be relied on one-hundred percent of the time. This God lives in a heavenly city where the waterways are perpetually tranquil, as opposed to the turbulent, raging seas of earth (4). God’s city is a place of gladness and peace, as opposed to the insanity and instability of the cities of earth (4). Though the population centers of earth can and have collapsed, that will never be the fate of the Heavenly city, whose walls are unshakeable and collapse-proof (5a). With all these invincible features of the city of God at his disposal, the Psalmist knows that his welfare is safely kept in the hands of the Lord Almighty, the very God of Jacob. He Who delivered Israel from the hordes of Egypt at the Red Sea will save. The One Who sustained His people through centuries of dislocation, dispersement, deprivation and diabolical persecution will keep him safe and secure. And that help will come right in the nick of time, indeed, at the very break of dawn his salvation will be effected (5b).


UNSHAKEABLE FAITH IN GOD GIVES US SAFETY, STRENGTH AND SECURITY IN TIMES OF POLITICAL UPHEAVAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT. [6]

Founded on June 26, 1945, the United Nations was formed with the goal of securing and maintaining international peace. While its cause may be noble, statistics reveal that we are more of a warring world since the U.N.’s inception than before it. As I write these words there are major conflicts in both hemispheres, as well as scores of smaller conflagrations. This not to mention the ongoing threat posed by borderline countries that have a history of mutual hostility that could spill over into all-out war that could quickly draw in the major powers on the planet.

While efforts at nuclear disarmament and peace negotiations are admirable and helpful, the fact remains that man is, by nature, a sinful being of self-interest who will take up arms in the aggressive pursuit of territory, natural resources, and commercial advantage. In the wise words of the prophet Daniel, “War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed” (Daniel 9:26). Jesus concurs with this prophetic forecast, stating, “When you hear about wars and riots don’t be afraid … Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms” (Luke 21:9-10). How true has this been proven by the annals of human history. Its an ongoing sad saga of war after war, takeover after takeover.

Yet, in the midst of all of earth’s change and uncertainty the Psalmist points his reader to God. He is the only true source of help when things go bad on a global level. At that point no one has the wisdom to figure out the solutions to problems which are so complicated, far-reaching and unprecedented. Only God can bring order out of such chaos, and He has done so in the past by allowing peace-loving nations to carry the day on the battlefields of global conflict like WWI and WWII.

The Lord lifted His voice (6) and calmed an Atlantic storm long enough to allow Allied forces to get across the English Channel and onto the shorelines of Normandy, France, from whence they thrust into Europe. The Lord made many wars cease by shattering the defenses and command and control systems of warring nations (9), not unlike Desert Storm, when the Hussein-led Iraqi forces were cut off from all communications capabilities, and went down in a hurry. Their tanks lay strewn across the desert roadways burning in a blaze of fire (9). No, these things should not be cause for concern for the trusting child of God, for he is in the protecting Hands of a loving Creator, and in the Arms of the Good Shepherd. No reason whatsoever to fear or be dismayed. To the contrary, we should adopt a posture of complete confidence in the God Who is our refuge and strength, our God Who is ever present to help us through the fiercest of storms and come out safe and sound on the other side.

This is the same God Who fed Elijah two square meals a day during a famine. This is the same God who spared His servant Joseph’s master during seven years of economic depression in Egypt. This is the same God Who kept millions of Hebrew refugees alive in the middle of the desert when bread was nowhere to be found. This is the same God Who sustained the early Christians through challenges far greater and more costly than anything we’ve experienced in twentieth-century America. It is this same God Who we are called upon by the Psalmist to trust in without reservation. He is worthy of out trust, so our only job is to “be still and know” Him (10). He will handle all the details and the logistics of sustaining us through the current crisis we face as a nation as well as any future threats to our ultimate welfare. With the God of Jacob defending us, victory is secure!

Whether the economy waxes strong or wanes weak, we can rejoice in the faithfulness of the Lord our God! (Habakkuk 3:17-18). Like Paul of old, we can make the adjustments necessary to live lives of contentment whether Wall Street rebounds us into prosperity or we find ourselves living lean and mean on an austerity budget (Philippians 4:11b-13). And in the midst of it all, we can continue to be Christ’s ambassadors to those around us, sharing a message that will always bring certain and immeasurable spiritual prosperity to all who will embrace its offer!