Wherever life paths bring me these days I keep coming back to the same conclusion. People have difficulty being satisfied and at peace with their situations. The consequences are hard to miss. Marriages fall apart. Families disintegrate. You read about gender issues and people undergoing cosmetic surgery to enhance their Snapchat selfie photo. It’s hard to find good news these days even when we sense some circumstances may even be legitimate.
But there is good news. My friend from Jamaica, now passed away, remind me of her satisfaction with life in the face of harsh difficulties. Every time I think about her I start humming the refrain from the old church hymn “Trust and Obey.” She worked hard to send funds back to her family in Jamaica. She attended church, sometimes even walking to church. Her leg was amputated due to diabetes.
That never stopped her from humming “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
The basis of that hymn is Psalm 84, verses 11 – 12:
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
There are no easy answers to life’s problems, but trusting and obeying the Word of God is a good place to start.
Robert Parlante
February 2018
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