The middle verse in the Bible expresses profound wisdom: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” (Psalm 118:8) In these times people are seeking refuge from CO-19, business closings, shortages of commodities, lawlessness, and rioting in the streets. Where is all of this heading? Brace yourself. It’s not going away, and it’s going to get worse.
Frustration is unmet expectations. Have you ever been in a situation in which you expected certain outcomes, but nothing you expected panned out? That’s frustrating! Justin repaired FIDO, my 1988 Toyota pickup truck. That’s Forget It and Drive On. Most of us manage to live through frustration and eventually emerge into more mundane situations.
FIDO had two problems: the front end was worn out and the motor leaked oil like a sieve. We repaired the first problem, but the second is practically impossible to repair. When cranking FIDO, one must rev the engine for a minute or so until the oil in the firing chambers is burned up. The engine will not idle until all the oil is burned out.
Imagine if someone tried to drive FIDO, but didn’t know about the oil leak. They crank it, take their foot off the gas peddle, and the engine dies. They continue doing this over and over again, and every time the engine dies. That’s frustration.
I’m never frustrated when driving FIDO, because I expect to burn the oil out of the chambers before taking off. On the plus side, we’ve had fewer mosquitoes this year due to regular applications of blue smoke.
What are your expectations of CO-19, business closings, shortages of commodities, lawlessness, rioting in the streets, and other calamities we’re facing today? Do you expect someone to solve these problems? Bless your heart! Do you believe the government can solve these and other problems we face? Double dog bless your heart!
What is going to happen this fall when students and teachers return to school? CO-19 cases will increase setting off a string of dominoes that will touch and frustrate everybody who did not anticipate or prepare for increased numbers of cases. Locking down everything again will breed even more frustration.
We can confidently say trusting in mankind or mankind’s institutions has always wrought frustration. Isn’t that what all those folks fostering division and discontent among us are saying? It’s all bad, and we’re going to change things and even transform America, or burn it all down! Isn’t that what they’re saying?
Nevertheless, there are still those among us who trust in the Lord and find personal refuge in Him. We’re fewer in number than we used to be, especially in America where we are richer than any other nation in history. Our smaller numbers mean there are even more today who need to trust in the Lord and find personal refuge in Him from all that’s happening around us.
Those of us who trust the Lord need to remember it’s not our trust that brings comfort. Jesus comforts us like a mother of a newborn. Jesus comforts us to the extent that we naturally trust Him without question or reservations. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.
