The events of 2020 that continue into 2021 have conditioned us for “what is next?” The efforts to change America as we have known it will impact our children. We are travelling what is called “uncharted territory.” I wrote the following in January 2018, and I find these words very fitting for January 2021, “From time to time we all need to be encouraged. At any given moment life may look bleak. We are faced daily with uncertainty. The Bible says that we must have faith.”
“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)
Encouragement for any circumstance or situation is available in God’s Word. It is God in whom we place our trust. The Bible is a testimony of The Creator of the Universe, His Holiness, His Sovereignty, The Sustainer of life, and His relationship with mankind. Psalm 11:4 (NLT): “But the LORD is in His Holy Temple; the LORD still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth.” Encouragement comes from God’s Word and in fellowship and unity with His people. We must choose to be in the presence of both.
There is a wonderful testimony of God’s personal intervention in our lives found in the story of Hagar and Ishmael, a mother and son, found in Genesis 21. Their circumstances were desperate, and Hagar had resolved that they would both die for lack of food, shelter, and protection. There was seemingly no source for these basic needs; however, they were not without hope because God was fully aware of their need. The Bible says that God “heard the cries of the lad.” God is a personal God that responds to our cries. God had plans for this young man’s life and no shortcomings of mankind would change that.
“When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush. Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. ‘I don’t want to watch the boy die,’ she said, as she burst into tears. But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, ‘Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.’ Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer.”
Genesis 21:15-20
God’s plan and purpose for Ishmael’s life was not hindered because of his mother’s limitations, but rather was carried on to completion. There is a wise saying “never judge the circumstances you are in until you have first heard from God.” We hear from God by way of His Spirit through the teaching and preaching of His Word. Isaiah 55:11 (NLT): “It is the same with My Word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
