Words in Season for A Season of Trouble

Hi Friends,

If you are living in Jamaica right now, you will notice that there is a lot of ‘heaviness’ all around us. Our economy is taking some serious hits and we are being called by our Government to make some truly hard sacrifices  (e.g. JDX and extracting funds from our National Housing Trust). We are watching our Government make moves that we don’t fully understand or trust where it will all lead. Also in the mix, is the aggressively changing and deteriorating pattern of our social reality, with a seeming explosion of violent crimes against women, and children and family-member-on-family-member crimes. So with less and less money to meet our monthly bills, the devaluing of our dollar against the major currencies, and crime escalating daily, quite understandably many feel helpless, trapped and FEAR IS A CONSTANT COMPANION.

Is there a Word from God for such a time as this? I think there is. So today I share with you from the currents the Holy Spirit has brought to my heart in this season of trouble.

PEOPLE OF GOD FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS... FEAR NOT!

• Pray and don’t faint (Luke 18: 1-8)  – Be persistent, tenacious in your prayer life. It is a command from our Lord.

• Guard your heart (Prov 4: 23) –  Let us be watchful and protective of our emotions by filtering who, what, why and when we listen/watch. Some information (regardless from source e.g. family, friend, enemy) is discouraging and will leave us with our guard down and very vulnerable to the daily attacks by the enemy of our souls.  This includes any personal  fascination we may have with bad news. Yup!  We are to know what we can take. And when we can’t take anymore…say “No!” and just don’t take it on.  We  always have choice. Don’t open doors due to fear or obligation. Let us give ourselves the chance to recover and thrive.

• Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever (1 Chron 16:34) – Let us spend deliberate and frequent time in thanksgiving and praising God. He richly deserves it. Worship is also our victory in warfare e.g. Paul & Silas in Acts 16,  and Jehoshaphat in 2 Chron 20.

• Test the Spirit to see if it is from God (1 John 4: 1-6) – Because something or someone ‘appears’ to be ok, plausible, logical, well intentioned in what they say/do or how they engage with us, it does not always mean by God’s standards or intentions for our life…that it is in fact so. God expects us to pursue Him for discernment so our minds, emotions and physical well being will not be undermined by ‘deception.’ How serious is this? Jesus told Peter on an occasion “Get thee behind me Satan.” (Matt 16: 23). Peter was neither a stranger nor a foe. Because we know that Peter was restored, we also know that even genuine persons are experiencing their own highs and lows in their spiritual lives and this will affect ‘the quality and wholesomeness’ of what they communicate to us in a given matter.

• Have FAITH in God (Mark 11: 22-25) – If we are defeated by dysfunction in family, relationships and in the workplace or defeated personally by the financial famine in our wider society and throughout the globe, grim though it may be… it will not be due to the overwhelming size of our enemy.  Our defeat will be based on the quality of our Faith and Obedience and Patience. If we lack Faith, then when God looks down at our lives, He should be seeing us pursuing Him for deeper faith as the-top-priority of our lives. Rest assured, God knows how to take care of His own (2 Peter 2) .  ZERO FINANCES AND LACK are of no consequence to God (see Isaac  and the Famine in Gerar in Gen 26;  Elisha and the Widow’s Oil in 2 King 4: 1-7); and Elijah and the Poverty Stricken Woman Who God Said Would Feed Him in 1 King 17: 7-16). Only God can send you to someone worse off than you to get your sustenance. Let us lay down everything and seek God for greater Faith. It will trump all other “promises of solutions.”

• Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it  (Ex 20: 8-11) –  We are to Rest. Take Good Care of Ourselves. Know when to cut/cut-off.  We are b-e-l-o-v-e-d  by our God and beloved by others who He has placed in our lives. We matter to Him… so We Matter. Let us not think or act in ways that suggest that God doesn’t know our worth (Matthew 6: 6-31).

I do hope that these words have been a blessing to you, as they have been for me. Praise Be to Our God who is our very present help in times of trouble. We will be OK, as we believe Him.

~Cheryll

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Cheryll Messam is a committed Christian and member of the Webster Memorial United Church in Kingston, Jamaica. This Wisdom at Work Blog is Cheryll’s personal blog through which she writes or shares on anything that comes to mind; especially with the intent to provoke thought and laughter, educate, inform and inspire.

Cheryll is also a Certified Professional Life & Corporate Coach. Through her Personal & Professional Development Company – YOU in Mind Jamaica, Cheryll supports Professionals who are interested in growing in Self-Mastery i.e. Follow-through calmly with focus and perseverance on goals despite set-backs or opposition, as well as Professionals who wish to develop their Leadership Skills. You may contact Cheryll by email: cheryll@youinmindjamaica.com; phone: 876-357-6397 (JA), 954-762-7942 (Int); Twitter:  https://twitter.com/youinmindJA ;  LinkedIN: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryllmessam