Confident In Troubled Times - A Series on Confidence, Part 17
“Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.”
It's easy to be confident when the body is well, the bills are paid, the cars are running smoothly, the children are behaving, and all seems right with the world. Yes, in those rare times, we are easily confident that God is good and that He is in control.
But what about when things aren't so great? The day you're late for work because you spilled coffee down the front of your white shirt as you were rushing out the door. The day your little angel brings home a note from the principal. . . again. The day you realize you've booked two appointments for the exact same time. The day you get a notice from the mortgage company that they've made an error, and you owe them an extra $500, due immediately. Is it possible to be confident on those days?
It all depends on where our confidence lies, which is the whole point of this series. If our confidence is based on our own performance or abilities, we're in trouble. If we're basing our hope on the conditions that everything runs smoothly, we're in for a wake-up call. However, if we, like Jeremiah, can claim "You are my confidence (hope) in times of trouble," then we're in a very good place.
Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. He cried over Israel's sin and rebellion against God. He mourned over how they were destroying themselves from the inside. His heart was heavy and burdened, and if you read through his account, it seems like he was the only one who cared. Yet, alone in his zeal for God, he could still proclaim God was his confidence. Despite the chaos going on around him, Jeremiah didn't lose hope. He knew God was in control.
I'm reminded of the story of the Shunammite woman in II Kings 4. The woman and her husband set up a room for the prophet, Elisha, where he could stay anytime he was passing through. In response to their kindness, Elisha prophesied they would have a son, and they did. But some time later, the boy died. After laying his cold body on the prophet's bed, the woman rode out to find Elisha.
“So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well:”
It is well. Are you kidding me? What kind of mother would say, "It is well," after losing her child, her only child? The confident kind. The one who knew the power of God and was confident that God would either fix the situation or give her the grace to bear it. She had faith that God would calm the storm or calm her in the midst of it. And with that confidence, she was able to look heartache in the eye and boldly proclaim, "It is well!"
What about us? Are we living with such confidence, or do we fall apart every time something doesn't go our way? Is our daily motto "It is well" or "It's such a mess"? Confidence in God isn't only for the good days. It applies to the bad days too. No matter the situation, we can hope in God. There is nothing He can't handle, no mountain too high, no river too wide. He's got this! Trust Him.
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
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