The Stability of Our Times

It has been a busy 3 weeks. I passed through 12 states and put 3,000 miles on my car. The poor thing is tired.

Thank you, Alberta Thorpe, the Jan Moses Mission group, and Emmanuel Baptist Church, all in Carlinville, Illinois, for your many years of prayer support and remembering the Tribe of Moses. What a delightful church family you are. Equal thanks to Vicki Cobb, the Betty Faith Mission group, and Gray Baptist Church, in Gray, Georgia, for your generous hospitality and encouragement. Martha and I especially enjoyed listening to your stories about Jan when she was a Fish and Wildlife Ranger and a member of your church family back in the early 1980’s. You have journeyed with us for many years.

After helping Martha clean out her dorm room, we spent the night with my father-in-law, Bill Joness, and step-mother, Judy, who recently moved out of the home where Jan was born and raised, and now live in a very nice home on a hill that looks south into the Roanoke Valley. While passing through Atlanta, I met with the sons of evangelist, Dr. Gene Williams, who are actively ministering in the Philippines. Back in Texas, I had the privilege to speak to and fellowship with a group of 30 retired IMB missionaries.

Now all 5 of my birdies are in the nest for the next couple of months, until Hannah and Martha fly back to school in Virginia in August, and me to the Philippines in September. We have a host of things to do this summer, but the most important is enjoying our time together as a family.

Somewhere while traveling westward through Alabama, Martha and I talked about her time in college this past year. “Dad”, she said, “it is rare to find friends whose hearts are really focused on eternal things. Most girls are wrapped up in their relationships, talking about boyfriends, or about movies and such. And it seems even worse with the boys. Nearly everyone seems upset or angry about this and that.”

I asked Martha how she kept her focus straight, made excellent grades, tutored other students, stayed involved in ministry activities, and kept her joyful smile. “Dad, there is no way I could keep my focus on the Lord if I lived like most other students. It’s the time I spend with the Lord that makes Him my strength.” She then shared from memory a passage from Isaiah that included, “And He shall be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure” (33:6).

As I have said previously, there is much to be disheartened about our world today. But in the midst of sadness and uncertainty, it’s a source of strength and joy to have One who “shall be the stability of your times”. But He cannot be our stability until we first fear Him, then seek to know Him, and finally discover in Him a wisdom, a fulfillment, and a joy that nothing in this world can provide.