Don't Push The Panic Button Yet!
Posted: Wednesday, August 10, 2011
by Carol Allen Anfinsen
AnfinsenArt
Fear and panic are creeping across the land. A dread for the future and a fear that food will be scarce, prices high, and that plans and dreams for the future are futile. Some are hoarding or stocking up on food; food that may perish before it is used. Some are turning to the land and trying their luck at growing their own food which could be a good thing. I’ve heard it said that the closer we get to the land, the closer we get to God.
We blame God for our pain, but do we ask him each day for protection and for his spirit to guide us and direct us? Do we thank him in good times and show our appreciation for what he has done? Do we ask him to “keep us from temptation, from harm, and to give us our daily bread? If we were more prayerful would we suffer less?
History and human nature give us additional perspective. On the 15th day of the 2nd month after the children of Israel had come out of Egypt, the people dwelt in the “Wilderness of Sin.” What irony. They grumbled against Moses and Aaron and wished they were still in Egypt: “There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted,” they wailed; “but you have brought us into the desert to starve.” (Exo 16-17 KJV)
Moses reminded them that God had delivered them from each of the ten plagues that had befallen Pharaoh and his people. God had led them out of Egypt on dry not muddy ground while they watched their pursuers drown in the same sea that had provided their pathway to freedom. Where is your faith? Where is your trust? He chastised them.
In spite of their constant complaints and lack of faith, did God punish them for their unbelief or turn his back on them? No. He had compassion on them and gave Moses instruction concerning them.
From that time forward, each evening quail (meat) literally flew in and fell at their feet. And each morning after the dew began to burn off the ground, round honey flavored wafers were left behind. All they had to do was gather them up. They called this bread “manna” because they didn’t know what it was.
But the Lord tested their faithfulness to see if they would put their trust in him. He instructed them to pick up only enough for one day’s meal. They were told not to gather more than they needed or to fear that they would not have enough for the next day. Some disobeyed the Lord and stashed wafers away for later. But overnight, the wafers became wormy and began to stink.
Then the Lord instructed them to observe the Sabbath day of rest. On that holy day, they were forbidden to gather manna. Instead, they were told to gather extra wafers on the sixth day. Some were afraid that the manna would rot as it had done before when they had gathered more than their daily portion. Others did as they were instructed and miracle of miracles, the extra wafers remained fresh and clean for the Sabbath day.
What was the Lord trying to teach the Jewish people through these miracles and commandments? To trust him; to have faith and belief in him and to know that what he has promised, he will fulfill. God is always in control. That may mean that we must accept help from others at times (a very humbling experience), or that could mean we must work a little longer or try a little harder. It may require that we use what we have wisely.
When Adam & Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden they were told “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return.” (Gen 3:19 KJV)
We are to work for our food and shelter. We are not to allow others to do for us what we can and must do for ourselves. Only when we cannot (as opposed to will not) should we accept help when it is given.
During the “great depression” in the thirties, people learned how to subsist on little. Dish towels were made from used bleached flour sacks. Even little girl’s dresses and boy’s shirts were made from this sturdy cloth. People with gardens canned their produce for winter, stocking their shelves with what they had reaped with their own hands. They replaced “luxuries” with basics and were grateful even for that.
Bread lines and unemployment lines were long. What pulled the nation together was a willing spirit of people helping people. Their economy may be depressed, but their spirits would survive. Their optimism may have been dampened but not crushed. A revival of spiritual strength and a looking toward God refreshed them. The distress and challenges that brought them to their knees lifted them, revived them, and gave them hope for the future.
We are not alone. I recall a very depressing time in my own life when I felt that all was lost and my life would never be the same. The Lord got my attention by miraculously turning on an overhead light. The electrical click and the glaring light awakened me, and his words came into my mind: “I am the light which shines in darkness. See, I am always with you, even though you don’t always know it.”
What comfort! What joy that my Lord loved me enough to let me know he was there in my time of pain.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation;” the psalmist said. “Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom should I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1 KJV)
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 KJV)
Even when we don’t understand, God wants us to trust in him and believe. When we’re worried about joblessness, or whether we’ll have food for our families, we must put our trust in him and believe that he will take care of us. It may not be lobster and caviar; it might be bean soup and bread, but we will not go hungry if we put our faith and trust in him.
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