Devotional by Barbara Sanders

Psalms 4:5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. We are coming to the close of a century and the end of a millennium. In the past years, we've all gone through many things in our lives, some good and some not so good. We have all lost relatives and friends to death, whether of old age or diseases. We've seen things happen that perhaps shouldn't have happened, and we've had no control of any of this. I am sure we've all been faced with things that we'd have rather not to have faced, just let go and let be - but sometimes that's not as easy as it sounds. We do have to face things in every day life that are hard, yet it helps mold the person whom we are, or will become. We could have total complacence, which some do, and miss what God wants for our lives. Self-satisfaction and unconcern harms us more than helps us - sometimes making us 'hard people' ...... others find us uncaring, unloveable, unreachable. In today's world, we are now facing, at the end of this millennium, the fact that the return of the Lord is closer now than ever before. We should have always prepared for His coming, be ready regardless of the day or hour. We have no idea when He will reappear to take away His children, so we should live each day to the fullest, for him, spreading the 'good news' that HE loves us, wants us to live for Him, to be ready for eternal life that He has given us through the death of JESUS on the cross - GRACE through Faith. Y2K is on everyone's mind. "Will I" or "Won't I" is the main thing that is bothering everyone, because the government is putting fear in the minds of those that will listen. Listen folks - GOD isn't going to turn his back on his people!! Oh, we might have some rough times, but HE will bring us "THROUGH IT ALL" - no doubt in my mind at all!! If you've gotten into fear, worrying about where the next meal is coming from, the water you will need to live, whether the electric companies are going to be compliant, etc ...... turn to the Lord. Listen to the Chorus of this song by Andrea Crouch: Through It All, Through It All I've Learned To Trust In Jesus I've Learned To Trust In God; Through It All, Through It All I've Learned to Depend upon His Word. We have to lay aside all the weights and bondage of this world and learn to trust ONLY in HIM. HE is the only one who is able to bring us "Through It All". Oh, the government is going to lead you to believe that just 'preperation' for 'hard times' is going to do it. But don't be fooled into believing that!! GOD is the only one who is truly able to bring us through ANYTHING that is put before us. We have to place our full trust in Him and His Word - nothing else or anyone else!! We shouldn't be deceived into thinking anything else, especially so close to His Coming. Heavenly Father, as we come to the close of this millennium, a very exciting time in history, we want to fully place our trust in you. We know that only you can bring us through it all, give us peace that the world cannot give, and assure us, that 'through it all', you are there, no matter what we are faced with in our lives. Thank you for keeping us safe, giving us food to eat, a place to lay our heads, and all the things that we need to make it through in this life. We thank you that we've learned to leave our concerns in your hands, the only one capable of handling them. If we handled our lives completely, we'd be in 'fear and doubt and unbelief' constantly. But thank you, Father, for taking all of this from our hands, through our placing our FAITH in you completely. We give you all the honor and glory and praise, and give you praise continually. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Written ©December 29, 1999 by Barbara Sanders. All rights reserved. Copy only with permission.