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PROGRAM D-8408
Almost every day we hear lots of bad news, don’t we? I think listening to nightly newscasts is one of the most depressing things you can do these days. Times are tough in many ways, and it’s easy to be totally discouraged by these tough times. I’m presenting the do’s and don’ts for tough times.
It can be tempting in tough times to stick your head in the sand and live in denial—like an ostrich. It’s easy to postpone the inevitable by refusing to face the music and make some needed changes. But just because you don’t see the danger coming doesn’t make it disappear. Acting like ostriches is not a smart thing to do. We need to keep our eyes and ears open and make sure we understand all we can about the hard times so we can make good decisions.
You remember Joseph: After he became second in command to the Pharaoh and God had revealed to him that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, he made a strategic plan to save during the years of plenty so there would be enough to eat during the famine. If he had lived in denial and refused to plan for the future, it would have been a tragedy for the whole country, as well as his own family.
Here’s another don’t when you’re facing tough times:
Even during tough times, there are opportunities and possibilities which you’ll miss if you’re sticking your head in the sand.
Proverbs 20:13 says, “Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare.” If you’re facing some financially difficult times now, have you been keeping your eyes open for new opportunities? God always has a plan for our lives even in tough times, and his plans are always good for us.
Also, it is during these tough times that we can truly grow in our knowledge of God and in learning to trust him at a deeper level. The Psalmist wrote, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees” (Psalm 119:71). Think in your own life: Is it not true that when you have gone through some tough times, you look back and see that it was actually good for you, because you learned to trust God? Oh, you wouldn’t want to do it again, but you can say with the Psalmist that it was good for you.