FAITH IS ALL YOU NEED!!!

We have witnessed devastation recently that is so vast that there are some who still don’t believe what has actually happened. The television accounts have allowed us to see a part of what has happened, but there is no account as detailed as that experienced by those who have been in the midst of floods, wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis or any other disaster. Lives have been lost, and uncivilized behavior has raised its ugly head, primal behavior driven by desperation and deprivation.

Every day even small acts of negativity and destruction occur among us. People can be unkind, and in their own personal fear and insecurity, they can be cruel. The associates, teammates, friends, and acquaintances we see every day are often walking around with a world of pain locked inside. On the outside they attempt to deal, thinking the world cannot see, the pain that has caused their hopelessness to make them do and act in ways that are clearly driven by a lack of faith. Faith in themselves, faith in each other, faith in God.

Yet, truly...All we have is faith – faith that God is still in control; faith that if God’s people who are called by His name would humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, that He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal the land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

All we have is faith that America will seek God while God may be found – from the White House to the outhouse, from the pulpit to the pew, from the high-rise to the hut. All we have is faith, and it is our faith that helps us dare to hope when we remember that the unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Great is His faithfulness; every morning new mercies we see.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, mourns for God’s people in the midst of their own destruction and devastation. It is through the prophet Jeremiah that we understand not only God’s judgment, but God’s mercy and hope for humanity. It is through Jeremiah that Israel is called back to God in the midst of destruction.

We find ourselves today as a nation, a city, a town, a team, a community, affected by all that has happened as related to economics, catastrophic weather, employment, personal crises, and family dysfunction. We are in a position where only our faith will see us through. Our faith will cause us to stay connected to the call and cause of Christ even in the midst of despair and destruction. Our faith will cause us to examine our lives and our walk with Christ. It is our faith that helps us to continue to walk with Christ and not walk away feeling abandoned and betrayed by people and situations. After all, scripture tells us that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Scripture tells us that the righteous have never been forsaken nor their children begging bread. Scripture tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all other things will be added unto us. It’s in our times of distress and despair that the enemy causes us to question God and His word. Yet, we the faithful, need only react to the negativity thrown our way daily by standing on scripture, living in love, and believing in the face of anything and everything that challenges us. As Hebrews 11 says be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not yet see. Faith will enable you to look at the people and circumstances around you and KNOW that God will handle them while you seek Him who empowers you to do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Faith is all that we have...and EVERYTHING we need. It is in Lamentations 3:19-24 that Jeremiah declares, “The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

It is very simple, "If GOD be for us WHO can be against us?!"

All we have is our faith! Stand, Walk, Run...He will blow under your wings until you are flying above all the loss and tragedy and challenges life has thrown at you!