Letter from the President
Devastating hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Mexico (with the latter country also recently being hit by a massive 8.2 earthquake in its Oaxaca and Chiapas regions); deadly monsoons in India, Nepal and Bangladesh; roaring fires in the western United States; and fatal snow avalanches earlier in the year in Afghanistan, all seem to add up to teeming global chaos.
Top all of this off with the continuing destabilizing nuclear saber-rattling in North Korea, never-ending war in Syria, and fresh Russian military drills on the Ukrainian border, it makes one want to never watch the news again.
As we approach this festival season, let us cast all of our fears and cares upon God, seeking refuge in Him and turning our challenges completely and confidently over to Him.
Thank Almighty God that we know with certainty the future of humanity and enjoy His favor today! We may have our trials and difficulties, but we in the United Church of God have the powerful capacity to seek real shelter in the hands of God. Indeed, David wrote that “blessed [supernaturally favored] is the man who trusts in Him” (Psalm 34:8)! The New Living Translation offers this: “Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him” (emphasis added throughout).
Time and again, those who do yield and take refuge in God—trusting Him with their very lives—find that God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
When we do turn things over to God, sometimes we can look back and see signs where we may have grown impatient and tried to take back what we had turned over to God. We need to understand that trusting God is faith in action. So how do we trust in God and take refuge in Him? A familiar verse to us is Proverbs 3:5-6. The New Living Translation makes the intent of this instruction very clear:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
A number of key components in these specific scriptures can effectively guide us. First, we are to “trust” God. This means to turn over our trial, difficulty, challenge or indecisiveness totally to God. And completely means completely, “with all your heart.” That doesn’t mean we don’t have a role—God expects us to do our part. But it means that we relax into God’s hands, confident that despite whatever we have to go through—and it can be painful—we will come out victorious.
This can be tough to do. When we come upon difficulties and trials, our natural human inclination typically is toward “fix, manage and control.” The temptation to pull back the trial or challenge right out of God’s hands can be great. Being patient can even be a trial unto itself. But we must apply patience—literally taking refuge in God from whatever storm may be beating on us.
When we try to “fix” things that appear broken, we can quickly make assumptions and lean on our own understanding. While that may appear to have value, God can see things that we cannot, and He has power that we do not. So we are to go to Him in earnest prayer, studying and meditating on His Word, and seeking spiritual counsel and direction. The benefit of doing this in real time is powerful peace and quiet confidence (Isaiah 32:17).
The NLT rendering that we are “to seek his will in all you do” represents a critical point. As Paul wrote: “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2, NLT).
That relates back to the Greek word transliterated metanoeo for the English word “repent,” which means literally to “change one’s mind.” Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God often uses difficulties and challenges to transform how we think. We yield and surrender ourselves into meek repentance, turning our problems and our lives over to God, and He thereby refashions us.
With our minds opened to spiritual direction, we come to God with a willing heart, surrendering to wherever His will may take us. God then fulfills our request, and He “will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:6, NLT).
It’s generally not an overnight process. But it is sure. Whether the storm is pounding or the earth moving under our feet—figuratively or literally—we can and should take refuge in God.
In times when the news is unsettling or the trials seem overwhelming, read the entirety of Psalm 34 and drink deeply of its spiritual refreshing. As David magnificently wrote: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).
As we approach this festival season, let us cast all of our fears and cares upon God (1 Peter 5:7), seeking refuge in Him and turning our challenges completely and confidently over to Him. And let us join with David, where we too “will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1).
May the rich blessings of peace, grace and joy be upon us all as we enter into this marvelous Holy Day season.
