Best & Worst of Times
Have you had some BEST of times? I sure have! I know the times of great peace, without worries or concerns, the “Good Ship Lollipop” kinds-of-days.
And I have had some WORST of times. Heartbreak, disappointments, family upheavals, sickness and disease, broken relationships, financial disasters and “the dog biting, the bee stinging and feeling sad kinds of days”….but like that “Sound of Music” song, I’ve learned to simply remember my favorite things and my Sovereign God and His goodness…….and then I don’t feel so bad!
Actually, “the best of times and the worst of times” words are from Charles Dicken’s classic work, “A Tale of Two Cities”. It begins with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness….”
The French revolution brought the worst of times and the best of times to France and England. Dicken’s words were descriptive of the mood of the world. Fast forward to the 21st Century and we have come to know the best of times AND the worst of times in our lives and our world.
Here’s the best news EVER! God’s “Good News” is greater than the world’s bad news. John the Apostle described Christ’s coming as light coming into the darkness, and he said that the darkness could not extinguish it. It could not conquer it or overpower it. God’s light has come into the world to overcome the darkness, and the darkness is helpless against it. Light is greater than darkness and God’s “Good News” is always greater than the world’s bad news. No comparison!
If we only paid attention to the news or social media, we’d think there was only darkness in the world — only bad news. But if we would meditate on the “best of times” in our lives as well as start our day reading the Good News, our mind would be filled with good, and the 6 pm evening bad news could not overcome it. Here’s the promise we have from God: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
Trusting God can be difficult in the best of times, but to trust Him in the worst – that’s not easy! Yet when we stay close to God, and remain in intimacy with Him, we will get to know Him more personally. We get to know the character of God and we learn to hear His voice. It is much easier to trust a God we know than one we don’t. Even in the dark, when we truly know the God we serve and love, it will be much easier to place our life in His hands and leave our burdens there with Him. When we praise Him for His provision in the light, we will believe that His provision will find us in the dark. If we speak with Him daily, it will be much easier to hear His voice when we desperately long for it.
Two teams are playing – one is dark and the other is light. One is all about bad news, and the other is all about good news. We know which one will win. That is good news…..AND….the best of times!
May I urge you to get to know who God is and ask Him to reveal Himself to you? Draw close to Him, and you will be much more prepared to stand firm in the worst of times of prevailing storms – right there sheltered in the arms of God!