A Faith for Hard Times

Sometimes I work too hard at writing. I wrote a little story for my most recent post on my other blog, The Well Run Dry; I intended to just bang out a cute, quirky little allegory, but I spent way too much time doing research on Wikipedia and other sites in order to provide enough detail to make it believable. This post on From SoC to Points North will take a lot less time.

First, I want to point out a very good article, “Helps to Spiritual Renewal,” written by Margaret Irons, webmaster of the Assembly Reflections website. She came out of the same abusive church from which I also escaped. Her article is at http://www.geftakysassembly.com/Articles/Recovery/HelpsToSpiritualRenewal.htm.

It seems undeniable that hard times are ahead for our world, and particularly our nation. The most helpful thing when facing hard times is to have a clear-headed, adult perspective. This is especially true for Christians, who are supposed to be a display of wisdom in the midst of hard times, instead of clinging to erroneous beliefs that lead to disappointment and harm.

I recently finished reading the book of Numbers and am now in Deuteronomy. One thing confronted me inescapably: the knowledge that God is holy and that He punished nations which turned to wickedness. This is why He told Israel to conquer the nations of Canaan. But He told them that while, if they lived according to His law – if their deeds were a reflection of His character – He would bless them, He also told them that if they too turned to wickedness, He would punish them in the same way that He punished the nations they dispossessed.

People in the “post-modern” West don't like hearing this, and they tend to get very agitated and hostile whenever the holiness of God is mentioned. Yet that holiness is a fact, as is the fact that we have all fallen short of it. The failure extends across all lines – Left and Right, rich and poor, red, yellow, black, white. The evidence of our failure is the mess we have made of our country and of the world. “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” But God has promised to the repentant an inheritance just as He promised an inheritance to Israel. One day, His people will inherit a new earth. The future heirs of the earth are known by this sign: that they are gentle and meek – Matthew 5:5. The first element of a faith for hard times is to acknowledge that God is holy, and to humbly accept His judgments and wait on His vindication.

There is a second element. I visited the Russian church I wrote about last week. I didn't understand everything (though I had a capable translator), but one day I'll write more fully about the parts I did understand. One thing that struck me was a hymn they sang at the end of their service. They sang it a cappella, with multiple parts, in a peculiarly Russian rhythm. I have to say that it was beautiful. My translator told me that it was Psalm 121 set to music, and since I had my English Bible, I opened it to that psalm and read it while everyone else sang. I was struck by another thought: that God has promised to keep His people. He is the unfailing Keeper of His people. “The LORD will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forth, and forevermore.”

I had to ask myself whether I really believed this. It's easy to distort Biblical promises of God's care and safekeeping to mean that He will give each of us a Mercedes-Benz, a lifetime supply of gasoline, a McMansion all paid for, perfect health, and a trophy spouse. Then when things don't work out according to our greeds (as opposed to needs), we get “disillusioned.” I don't believe that God has promised an easy life to anyone. In fact, when the Bible mentions people who have an easy life, they are usually numbered among the wicked. But God wants His people to trust Him – even in the times now upon us – that He will be our Keeper. What that means, we will all find out shortly. But whatever the shape of His keeping, it will be evident in the end that He did the right thing by us.

I'm thinking of heading over to a local rescue mission tomorrow for Sunday service. I'll come bearing gifts for the offering box – not money, but things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, shaving gear and the like. (Things like clothes and underwear also go over very well.) I'll tell more about it next week.

P.S. This is slightly off topic, but today I read a major news article about several states illegally purging voters from their voter registration rolls prior to the November Presidential election. The Republican party is trying to take advantage of this to influence the election. The news article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html?em. Please let others know about this, if you would. Fellow bloggers, let's do what we can to ensure that this election is honest. Thanks!