November is upon us. As much as I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving, family time, and even more football, I’m also dreading it. Why? Things that I have grown to trust are letting me down.
#1. The election. Do I even need to explain?
#2. Health Insurance. Like pretty much everyone else, our insurance premiums and deductibles have risen to the point where insurance will only be helpful to us in the event of a major catastrophe. Meanwhile, month to month, the policies available to us will blow up our budget. It’s hard to know what to do when you feel like all of the options in front of you are risky.
Fear. That is the real issue here. Fear is holding me back from making decisions. I’m nervous about who to vote for. I want to make the best decision for our country but I don’t have confidence in any of my options. I’m afraid that we can’t afford health insurance, but we can’t afford to go without it. I’m afraid that a major medical incident might happen to someone in our family and we won’t be able to pay our bills with or without a policy. I’m worried about our country and the decisions our leaders made that put us in this position.
It occurred to me that as Americans we have a lot of things we are used to putting our trust in. We trust the government, the court system, social programs, insurance companies, investments, savings accounts, our jobs…We like to think that if we work hard and make responsible decisions we should have enough. Actually, we should have more than enough. We should be able to live the American Dream and the US government should protect those dreams.
It’s never been more evident to me than right now that these things are not worthy of the amount of faith we put in them. Our government has failed us in many ways. We don’t trust our leaders, health insurance policies are too expensive to helpful, social programs are overloaded, the economy isn’t always stable, jobs can be lost, the cost of living will continue to rise.
As I was fretting about all of this today, Psalm 146 popped into my mind. I recommend reading all 10 verses but this is the verse that really spoke to me:
“Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God…” Psalm 146: 3-5
I’ve been scared for the future because I have been putting my trust in presidents and policies. But those things are failing me. Sadly, sometimes it takes getting scared to remember to rely on God. When all of the worldly things I’ve tried to trust come crashing down, I have to confront the reality that those things are not the safety net I thought they were. Fear reminds me to take my eyes off the things of this world and look to Jesus for the things that are eternal.
I don’t need to be afraid of this election because God rules the world, not the president of the United States. I don’t have to worry about healthcare and money. My life is in His hands.
God never promised us the American Dream. He never promised us health, wealth, or that life would be comfortable, happy, and easy.
Here are just a few promises He did make:
If you confess that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
If you believe in Him, you will have eternal life (John 3:16).
He is always with us (Matthew 28:20).
He knows what we need and will take care of us (Luke 12:29-32)
Nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:37-39).
You can have peace in times of trouble because He has overcome the world (John 16:33).
He is preparing a place for us and He will return to take us home (John 14:1-3)
Ultimately, no matter what our future holds here on Earth, if we put our trust in the LORD, we have a hope that nothing can steal. We might face trials and persecution, we might lose our health or our money, we may have to endure hardships in our country. We may lose our lives, but our souls will never perish.
Presidents and insurance policies are important but they cannot save us.
“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” -Psalm 118:6
~Lord, I’m sorry that I am quick to put my faith in man-made, worldly and temporary things. You are the only one who should have my complete trust! .~
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