Wait for the Lord

It is a scary world we live in. On September 11, 2001 the World Trade Center was destroyed and the Pentagon attacked. The “War on Terror” continues in Afghanistan and Iraq. Violence is on the news in other parts of the world. The news is full of accounts of children being abducted (thankfully, some have recently been found alive and/or have escaped their captors). Yes, it is a scary world!

We do not have to look far to see several who would harm us if they could. Some of them are terrifying. It may be that someone is intimidated by a boss or a co-worker; perhaps someone at school scares you to death. When we watch the news and see what is happening around the world and around the corner, it is hard not to be a little frightened. Parents in the United States are paying closer attention to where their children are (or they should be). As a missionary (and I’m still a missionary at heart) I think about what it would be like to be on the street in Jerusalem, Kabul, or Baghdad right now. Scary! Still, someone has to be in those places or in those situations. Those things that terrify us across the globe make up everyday life for the people who live there. And the things in your everyday life that terrify you would probably terrify others, too. I have to admit, so far this “word of encouragement” is not sounding very “Barnabas-like,” is it?

Well, there is good news. Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled (1 Peter 3:13, 14). I know it sounds trite and easy to say, but it’s true! What harm can really come to us if we are zealous for what is good? I don’t mean that our hearts won’t break when some of the things that happen in this life happen to us. Those of you who have lost children know the deep and awful pain the parents of those recently in the news are going through. I do not for one moment want to give anyone the impression that there is no pain involved in this world or that if you feel such pain, you have no faith. Of course there is pain! But it cannot overcome you if you refuse to be overcome!

Are you familiar with Isaiah 40:31? It says: Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. Did you ever wonder about mounting up with wings like eagles? Pictures flood our minds of soaring high, presumably high over those things which threaten us. Rather than being overcome, we overcome. That is a very good way to understand the picture being drawn here. But did you ever wonder what happens to the eagle when a storm threatens? Not far from where my family and I used to live in Colorado is Gore Canyon. The Colorado River runs through it. There are cliffs in that canyon that rise 3,000 feet straight up. There are a lot of golden eagles there. If an eagle is caught on the face of such a cliff when a storm strikes, it could be thrown into the mountain and killed, except for one thing – God has given the eagle the instinct to set the attitude of his wings to allow the updraft of the storm to carry him up and out of danger. Do you see the comparison? It doesn’t matter whether you are talking aeronautics or life in general; attitude is the key.

I once heard a character on a TV program say, “Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” There may be some truth in that, but Scripture says it also builds character. James wrote: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance (James 1:2, 3). Adversity will produce endurance, if we will endure it with the right attitude.

If my boss or co-worker or teacher or acquaintance threatens me, or if my friend hurts my feelings, I have to set my attitude so that the threat itself lifts me out of danger. If some catastrophe were to befall a member of my family, I would have to set my attitude so that the threat would not overcome me, but lift me out of danger. If I find myself on the streets of some city anywhere in this world and my life is threatened or taken, who could really harm me if I prove zealous for what is good? What really is there to fear? Nothing! Hallelujah, praise Jehovah!!

Take care and have a great week because Jehovah loves you and so do I.

Donnie Bates