A request from a caller to my radio show has been on my mind all week. She asked me to give her some encouragement, given all the bad stuff going on in the world, and the problems we have right here at home.
Without hesitation I immediately thought of a scripture that I go to whenever all the bad news starts to get me down. So, if you object to me quoting scripture from the Bible and your head might explode, then stop reading because I am not going to now give this spiritual encouragement to others who may be feeling just like the caller who asked for encouragement.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (King James Version): We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
The ISIS crisis has us feeling troubled, perplexed, persecuted as Christians, and cast down because there is no apparent strategy to fight back. The Obama administration is trying to downplay the seriousness of the situation.
They have beheaded Americans and other innocent people, including 21 Coptic Christians just because they were Christians. They are burning people alive in the name of a sick ideology. They’ve made deliberate and direct threats to Americans, the United States and other countries. They actively recruit weak minded and misguided young Americans to join their evil mission.
Back home in the USA, we have:
A stalled economy growing at nearly half its capacity for growth.
A real unemployment rate of over 10 percent.
A decreasing median income level.
More businesses closing their doors than those that are opening for business.
A baseless attack on fossil fuels, while trying to force non-cost-effective "green energy" technology on America.
New regulations on steroids!
And ObamaCare being forced down our throats without regard for the costs, pain and agony on we the people.
These are just some of the reasons that people are looking for encouragement.
The answer is not in waiting for a newly elected president in 2016, because there is no guarantee that the American people will get it right the next time. The road to the White House does not always produce the best leader, or a leader at all.
The answer is the continued persistence, determination and patience of we the people to keep the pressure on those we elect to fix stuff and lead.
In the meantime, we must not give in to believing that this is just the way it is, nor give up.
As a Holocaust survivor said when asked if she gave up hope while waiting to be killed, "Giving up is a permanent solution to a temporary condition."
Be encouraged!
