Executive Producer

This episode is brought to you in part by Executive Producer, John Anonymous.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 75 CEV, Ch. 76 ERV. Ch. 77 NCV

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Thoughts

When we look back at 2020, and I include nearly every person old enough to be aware of his or her surroundings, we will remember the COVID 19 pandemic, and the effect it has had on our lives. We will remember the reports of loss of lives, the lockdowns, the isolation of loved ones, the masks, the ruination of millions of businesses, the loss of jobs, the depletion of savings accounts, the complete upending of hundreds of millions, if not billions of lives. Who would have thought that this could happen, as it has, on a global scale?

When we consider how life has changed for nearly everyone on the planet, we have to ask, “Where is God in all this? Is He aware of what’s happening? Doesn’t He hear our cries for help?”

I think this Psalm fits our time well. 

Verse 1

I cry out to God;

I call to God, and he will hear me.

Beloved, be encouraged. When we call out to God, he *does* hear us. He hears the cries of the righteous, those who are His. And beloved, He is our loving Heavenly Father. 

1 John 3:1 tells us, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!..“ 

And since we are His children, we know that He will not leave us empty handed. Listen to this promise from Matthew 7:11-12: “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” 

Verse 5

I keep thinking about the old days,

the years of long ago.

For us, we don’t have to remember that far back to better times. And it is painful to think that life may not return to what we considered “normal” for a very long time, if ever. Some have said that we have to used to a “new normal”. If you’re anything like me, you don’t want to accept a new normal. I don’t know what’s ahead. But I do know that whatever waits for us, God is there. And He does not change. God. Does. Not. Change. He is still that loving Heavenly Father. Just like He was yesterday. Just like He is today. And just like He is forever.

Verses 6-9

At night I remember my songs.

I think and I ask myself:

“Will the Lord reject us forever?

Will he never be kind to us again?

Is his love gone forever?

Has he stopped speaking for all time?

Has God forgotten mercy?

Is he too angry to pity us?”  Selah

When we are depressed, when we have anxiety, sleep is often elusive. I think that’s one of the reasons for the spikes we’ve read about in drug and alcohol abuse in 2020. 

We lie in bed and we worry. And those of us who are believers might ask ourselves these questions. To be sure, sin is rampant in the world today, and I can’t help but believe that a righteous, holy God must surely be angry at what He sees. And the Bible tells us that judgement is on the way. We know that. We don’t know when, but we know that just as night follows day, judgement is coming. 

But beloved, because God never changes, His promises for those of us who are his do not change. I do not know what life will look like in the near future, but I do know that He will care for us. He will not abandon us. We are His. As Romans 8: 38 tells us, And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”

Verse 10

Then I say “This is what makes me sad:

For years the power of God Most High was with us.”

Isn’t it just like us to take for granted the things we have? It isn’t until we lose those things that we appreciate them. Do you have a roof over your head? Thank God for it. Do you have food in your belly? Thank God for it. Do you have transportation? Thank God for it. 

We even take the presence of God for granted. We take the blessings of God for granted. Those things I just asked you about? Those are blessings from God. Here in America, we took for granted the fact that we could freely attend church with our brothers and sisters in Christ. That was a blessing from God. And we can say with the psalmist, “For years the power of God Most High was with us.”

And then the rest of the psalm recounts many of the ways that God’s power was manifested on the earth.

Again I say, God does not change. No matter what happens here on earth, God is God. But because of the rebellious lot that is the human race, God allows seasons of drought and seasons of rain. When He puts us through a drought, people become thirsty for Him. Sometimes droughts last a long time. So be it. 

Beloved, it is our calling to stand fast. To cling to His Word, and to share the Good News with a lost and dying world. Not everyone wants to hear. Some never will, and some have just not gotten thirsty enough. That’s okay. That’s on them. But it is on us to never tire of sharing the Good News that has the power to save men’s (and women’s) souls. 

Beloved, we have the answer. And His name is Jesus.