A Word of Encouragement in Times of Trouble

With everything happening around the world, many are becoming very discouraged and fearful… some for good reason. Masses are loosing their jobs, prices are sky high, laws are being changed by the day which take away our liberties, among many other reasons. I must admit that I too have felt the fear and pain associated with the times we are living in, but there is encouragement to hold on to.

My husband and I were talking earlier today about the hopelesness of the unknown for so many, which lead to us discussing the account of Abraham and his son Isaac. For those who are unfamiliar with this story, here is a quick excerpt that pertains to our discussion:

Genesis 22

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, [here] I [am]. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid [it] upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

Now, pay close attention to the fact that the Lord told Abraham ahead of time that the goal was to offer his son as a sacrafice, so that is what Abraham had to go on. Then take notice that during the trip when Isaac asked his dad where the sacrafice was, he responded that God would provide for Himself a sacrafice. This shows how even though all he (Abraham) had to go on seemed absolutely dreadful, he knew based on his experiences with the Lord following through on His promises (Genesis 17:21), that somehow the Lord would come through even if he did not understand at that moment how or why this had to be.

As we can see, the angel of the Lord intervened right at the very last possible moment. Isn’t that how it always seems to be? God always lets us get to the very end before intervening. We as humans just hate this because we can’t understand why we have to go through such torturous emotions, etc. before coming to the end, however, our ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). In the end, we must believe that it will all work out to our benefit (Romans 8:28). Just remember that everything that has been happening around the world and will continue to increase, has already been foretold throughout the Bible. The end is secured in the Word of God and nothing has the power to change it. Know that, “…When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” (Isaiah 59:19).

So, during this time of great darkness, stand firm in the Truth of God’s Word and trust in Him through all things because He will not let you down. We have a light that we are called to shine and we were predestined to live during this age for this purpose, so make the most of it. Stay strong in the Lord, give encouragement and comfort to those around you and rely on the Spirit of God to strengthen and comfort your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I pray that the peace which surpasseth all understanding will guard you and that the joy that is unspeakable will help to sustain you through all that may come around you.