Decade from hell?

Much has been written in recent days about what Time Magazine has dubbed, "The decade from hell".  No one can deny the myriad tragic events of the last ten years.  My mother was born on this day in 1906.  I wonder what she might think of this last decade in comparison with having lived through the great depression, World Wars I & II, Korea and Viet Nam.  She was widowed at the age of 32 and left with a 12 year old son to raise just as the country was begnning to recover from that depression.  She was left alone again with a young child to raise as my father, her son and three of her brothers fought in World War II.  She had to struggle through rationing while caring for an infant and her elderly incapacitated mother by herself. One of the things that I learned from my mother was faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ.  She was a devout Catholic and she never questioned the Providence of God. As I reflected this morning on the last decade and my own personal struggles and trials I realized that they paled in comparison to what she endured. Yet, no matter how much worse someone else may have had to struggle, it doesn't negate the pain and anguish that we feel ourselves when we are in the midst of it all.  I must admit that there were times in the last decade that my faith was tested.  It seemed to me, at the time, that my greatest tests came just when I entered the ministry.  I was coping with major life changes in career and residence when I was hit with some major crises in my personal life.  I often felt as if I were living two lives, the one the world saw that appeared happy and normal and the one I battled in the privacy of my home.  There were times when the only time I felt truly alive was when I was in the pulpit preaching the Word.  That is because in those moments I am totally surrendered to the Holy Spirit and He is in control.  Looking back I understand that these events were not coincidence or just fate but that the enemy, Satan, was attacking me and trying to divert me from the calling that God has placed on my life.  I remember crying out to God to protect me and defend me.  Psalm 3 became my claim on God's promises, "I cried out to the Lord and he answered me from his holy mountain  I lay down and slept. I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me."  What I see now as I look back over those dark days is that God remained steadfast.  God never left my side. Even when I did not feel his presence, He was there.  If you are going through some difficult times, underline in your Bible the words of Isaiah in Chapter 40 verses 27-31 here quoted from the NLT, "O Israel, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?  How can you say God refuses to hear your case?  Have you never heard or understood?  Don't you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary.  No one can measure the depths of his understanding.  He gives power to those who are tired and worn out;  he offers strength to the weak.  Even youths will become exhausted and young men will give up.  But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength.  They wll fly high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint."  In this new year and new decade, I wish you Shalom.