Pastor’s Weekly Refuel
THE ECONOMY –
IT’S TIME TO CRY OUT
“The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” Psalm 34:17
I don’t know about you, but this economy has caused my thought patterns to change drastically. When I consider going to the store or heading to the mall, I immediately begin to calculate the cost in terms of the number of miles the trip will take and the amount of fuel that will be used for the sojourn. Each trip to the grocery store brings on another bout of “shock and awe” as the price of everything continues to rise. The price of lighting, heating or cooling our houses is literally going through the roof. What was once called an “income” can best be described as an “outgo” because everything is going up except salaries. Heck, even Starbucks is closing stores and laying off tens of thousands of workers. Housing foreclosures is at an all-time high while credit card debt is rising like yeast biscuits on steroids. Things in the world are not looking good. Trouble is closing in on all sides. Thank God for Jesus and the promise of his word in Psalms 37: 25, which tells us “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
Even in this collapsing economy, I am ecstatic that God still reigns in my life (Psalms 47:7-8; Psalms 97:1). When everything is caving in around me, I can rejoice in the fact that my God remains an “ever-present help in times of trouble” (Psalms 46:1). I am glad to be able to rest on the fact that these are not the worst economic problems that the Lord has seen. Though it may be tough for us, our parents and grandparents faced tough times, too. And the same God that helped them through is standing strong for us. Things may get rough; we may get dazed and stumble. We may even fall down. But we will not be destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:9).
If you believe in the word of God; if you believe the scriptures are God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19), no matter what you current situation, you should feel better – in fact you should rejoice (Philippians 4:4). I have learned to do like David in Psalms 34. Every time a new bill comes in the mail – I cry out. Every time I have to fill up my car, you know that I cry out. When the news forecasts that things aren’t getting any better and the recovery is months, maybe years, away, I cry out. When stress tries to attack me; when sickness attempts to grip me – I cry out and rejoice because I do not live under the rules of this world. George W. Bush may be my president, which is a reason to cry, but Jesus Christ is my king and in His kingdom is “fullness of joy” and “pleasures for ever more.” (Psalms 16:11) – That’s a reason to cry out.
So in your time of trouble, pain, fear, confusion and apprehension – cry out. The Lord is there to deliver you from all your troubles. He is a gracious and an “on time” God who cannot fail.
Be Blessed, Be Thankful and Cry Out
Your Pastor,
Marvin R. Wamble
Shiloh Community UMC
12695 Shiloh Church Road
Newburg, MD 20664
