Future Concerns

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I think that with all of the recent events in the world, many of us have worries or concerns about the future. There is an old saying: If you pray, why worry; If you worry, why pray? I try to remember this and usually if I wake up in the middle of the night with troubles on my mind, I figure it is a good opportunity to pray myself back to sleep. I also try to read myself to sleep with my Bible, I've often read myself to sleep only to be rudely awakened when that big, old book comes crashing onto my head! Some of the troubles on my mind lately are my childrens' and my husbands' health. I try to take good care of them and want them to be healthy and happy. So far we have had few troubles in this area, but it is on my mind. I also have on my mind these terrorist problems. It is no fun feeling like there are people out there who feel it is their duty to kill innocent people. Wondering where they will strike next has had me praying lately. Financial concerns are often on my mind as well. Although our financial condition is fairly good, my husband works in construction so it is almost always an iffy field. When a recession hits, construction usually takes it hard. I remember the mid 80's when he would have no work for months, in the winter especially and would try to sell wood, and do anything he could to make any money at all. I feel a little better prepared now, but our savings wouldn't last more than a few months. I keep working towards allof these things, not just sitting back but taking action to make us more independent and self-reliant. I guess you should pray first, then take action!

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), October 07, 2001

Answers

Melissa, hard times either make us or break us. I can look back and see, though, how the Lord has always provided what we needed. Several times when my older boys were little, I would go to the thrift store to find clothes that they needed. I wouldn't find the right size and would come home empty-handed. There, on the doorstep, would be a bag of clothes with just exactly what I was looking for. Since we have been in Canada, a deacon (a widower) in our church has been bringing us groceries every week. When he goes on vacation, he gives us money ahead for the weeks he will be away. My husband does not get much money for being the pastor (and nobody pays a pastor overtime), and I was wondering how we would eat when he took this church. I should have remembered that the Lord takes care of his own. Last week I was saying something to this man about his generosity. He surprised me by saying that he is not normally a generous man, but that when we moved here, the Lord told him we needed this and he needed to meet that need. "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" Psalm 37:25.

As to all this talk of war, don't get me wrong, but I think in a way we need it. We in the U.S. and Canada have had it too easy for too long and have forgotten what it means to really trust the Lord day by day. The storms He sends try us and prove us and hopefully make us stronger in the Lord. Keep right on with your reading and praying. Every time you find yourself thinking anxious thoughts, take a minute to pray and start singing. Remember Paul and Silas in jail with their backs whipped to shreds, singing and praising the Lord. Remember the walls shaking from the earthquake, the jailer falling to his knees, and a church in Philippi being born. Remember, and ask the Lord to use you in the hard times as well as the good to glorify Him and encourage others.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 07, 2001.


Hello Cathy, "All this talk of war, don't get me wrong but, I think we need it" I am sorry to say that I disagree with the above statement you made! War is the last thing this or any other country needs. With every war there comes insanity whether you are the victor or the loser. Look at what "war" did to the heads of our servicemen in Vietnam. Many are "still in Saigon" whenever it rains, or a helicopter flies over, or there is a sudden loud noise. No winners, not really! They come home and bring with them the pain from incidents they experienced. They try to mingle with society and their family and try to be back to normal but, normal they usually never are! This affects society and families nearly as much. It is like a pebble dropped into a pool of water. It spreads and and spreads through everyone that is involved. No, I do not think we need war to make us tougher. Look at our city streets, our teenage children, our TV shows and movies. Don't you think we are tough enough? And this war is not drawing everyone to prayer. The Christians are just afraid that "the world is coming to an end"! That is why they are praying. They think that Jesus may not "take them up" if the world really comes to an end. In fact I do not understand why a Christian would even make a statement like the one you made. To love one another as I have love you means more than a handshake and a little hug in church. I do not mean to be critical of your views but, they are just too common placed among Christians. War is good! It was not good when George Orwell wrote the phrase as propaganda double-speak in the book 1984, and it is not good today. Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), October 07, 2001.

Ernest, not all Christians are "afraid that the world is coming to an end", some are looking forward to it. Other Christians are too new too have a clue about such things. Some people aren't even Christians, they just think they are. If our faith were strong enough, then war wouldn't be necessary, but that's not the case. And then there are those without faith and those that have turned their backs on God. Remember God doesn't force His will on anyone.

-- Cindy (S.E.IN) (atilrthehony@countrylife.net), October 08, 2001.

Ernest, that's how I thought some would take my statement, which is exactly what I did NOT mean. When I say tough, I do not mean "bitter, hard, hateful". I mean "stick with it, see it through, keep going". There are a lot of quitters in the western world, as is evidenced by the high rate of divorce, suicide, abortion, dead-beat parents, etc. These people are not "tough" in the sense that when life gets hard, they bail out. I am definitely NOT saying, "Let's go out and have a war so people can learn how to live." My children are too young yet to serve, but I have friends and family in both the reserves and in active duty. I know what Vietnam did to so many of our young men. I know men who served in that horrible war, who came home wounded in mind and body to a country that beat them even more for being in Vietnam. The point I was trying to make is that severely hard times--war, international depression, severe persecution for your faith--will either help us trust more firmly in Christ or turn us away from Him totally. A true Christian will understand what I mean and take encouragement from it.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 08, 2001.

I don't feel war is ever a "good" thing. It is an awful thing to go through for the perpetrators as well as the victim. Even the winners lose... However if we must retaliate, at the very least it has made people think about the more serious side of life. Many people may have received a needed wake-up call. Our country HAS become increasingly violent in nature, and many are leaning towards a more immoral way of life. I know that I myself am guilty of looking in more than out! Sometimes it is easy to forget there are people out there who are not peaceful, good people. We surely all learned that in a very big way last month. If we must go to war against foreign elemnts, at least we can come together as a people here at home. I know I am hugging my family a little tighter each night, I am thinking a little more about the future, I am hoping that many people do not suffer tremendous loss. Sometimes Christians can feel that they will miss out on the troubles, but I know we will all be persecuted, tried, and experience loss. I don't pray for God to shield me from trouble, as if I walk through life completely protected from problems, I pray for strength to deal with whatever problems I may face.

-- Melissa (me@home.com), October 08, 2001.


Cathy N. I know what you are saying and I agree with you whole heartedly. No one likes war but we cannot just sit back and let these terrorists take over. Unfortunately there is a price to pay for freedom. I feel for all the people who will be effected and those who will be killed. It is sad. Our country has become a country of "spoiled softies". I'm thankful our ancestors had some guts. They would be turning over in their graves to hear some of the things people are saying now. I do truly feel this disaster on NYC and the Pentagon was a wake up call from God for Americans. God bless America!

-- Barb in Ky. (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), October 08, 2001.

I just don't understand this. "No one likes war but we can't just sit back and let these terrorists take over." ??? Your faith does not extend so far to believe that if we do not strike out, if we do not kill and maim and destroy then "our" God will not protect us? Let the terrorists take over, if it is God's will, but I will not lift a finger to take another life and I cannot sanction someone else doing so in my name. Thou Shalt Not... not words to be taken lightly. I cry hot tears when I hear Christians call out for blood!!

Faith. Love. Compassion. Peace. LOVE. God is love. God bless the whole world.

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), October 08, 2001.


Gilly, God is also holy and just. War is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad thing and should never be entered into lightly. Nor do I in any way condone any type of "holy" war. But so many people talk about God being kind, benevolent, peaceful, compassionate, and loving, (and he is), but fail to also remember that he is holy, just, and righteous. He sent the Israelites into the land of Canaan with the command to destroy everyone that lived there. And when they spared some, he was displeased. God is the one who instituted the death penalty--and not just for murderers, but also rapists and child abusers. I am NOT condoning war, but if God allows it to happen, it is because he is holy and just. The Sunday after the attack on NYC and DC, my husband preached from Luke 13:1-5. Yes, God is love. But that love is balanced by justice.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 09, 2001.

Ok...back to our concerns for the future, the topic at hand. I worry that the US will get po'ed at Canada and turn on us because we are sometimes percieved as a sympathetic country and that our borders have never been tight enough to suit The US gov't(sad but true this is a legitimate worry of mine and I know others who have voiced the same concerns). That probably sounds far fetched and unrealistic, but my goodness, hasn't this whole last month been just that brought into reality? I worry that this war will last until MY babies get sucked into it. I worry that it will escalate and there will be strikes against Canada because we are so Americanised and so might be considered infidels as well. I worry about what this strife will do to the economy and the industry in which my husband is employed. I worry about there being a conscription again and my husband being called back into active service (former Navy guy). I am concerned about the price of electricity this winter and that we didn't lay in enough firewood to see us through if its especially cold this year and then we have to use that crappy electric heat. Will the price of gas skyrocket this year and bite heavily into our budget? Will I find a buyer for that nasty ram of mine? I'd rather sell him than kill him after all the effort I put into bringing him back to health (was near dead when I got him). My nephew, at age thirty one, has been diagnosed as having Primary Lateral Sclerosis in this last week. Will the future hold a wheel chair for him? Will his relationship survive the hardships ahead as his nervous system betrays him? Will he? These are just some of my concerns for the future and what it may hold for my family. I choose not to get into a religious or political debate about the benefits and detriments of war because I know God is good and will care for us all in His way and that war after the last months events was inevitable.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), October 09, 2001.

War is a hard issue for me to reconcile as well. Wouldn't it be nice if the world were perfect and everyone did the right thing?!? But alas thet is not the way it is. As long as man has inhabited this Earth, we have brought calamity on ourselves. What really is the role of government? It is generally accepted that the government has the responsibility to protect its people. What use is a government with no authority to carry out its mission of protection. Even God did not hesitate to wipe out entire cities; men, women, children and all... Maybe it is just as sinful to sit back and allow the atrocities to continue. If you see evil and do nothing to stop it, maybe we will be called to account for that. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" Another issue on which we will not agree, but we can have respect for each others beliefs, and know that God himself will have mercy on us, he forgives, he heals, he desires all to be saved. His purpose will be fulfilled at a day and hour of his choosing. Then there will be no doubts, we will all know the truth.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), October 09, 2001.


Just a post from the past!! I think it is good to read back over some of these posts, and get some ideas from some of the newer people. Feel free to respond if you have thoughts on this post.

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 21, 2002.

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