God Will Take Care of You

God Will Take Care of You

In the Nazarene hymnal, Sing to the Lord, this hymn comes under the heading, God Our Father: His Guidance and Care.

Hearing about God’s care and His guidance in the everyday situations of life is comforting. The thing is, we can depend on that guidance and care in all major and minor events of life, and even at death. This is His promise; and according to the hymn, we can depend on that.

This is a wonderful hymn that I have known all my life. I first heard this hymn when my dad would select it to be sung in church.

I also heard it recorded by a gospel group, I think it was the Rangers Trio, one of my favorites. I got the idea that my trio, a group I sang in during three years of high school and one year of college, could do a good, simple arrangement of it, and it did not take long for us to work it up, and eventually we recorded it.

Words and music to this hymn were both written in 1904; words by Civilla D. Martin, and music by her husband, Walter Stillman Martin. Civilla was a writer of many hymns and gospel songs, and Walter was educated for the ministry at Harvard. He was Baptist for a while, but switched to Disciples of Christ. He eventually travelled the country holding evangelistic meetings.

The opening line encourages us to never dismay no matter what. I’m certain we have all been there. It is not easy to let go of our struggles. Pressures and fears overwhelm us and we get to the place that we don’t know what to do next. The second line tells us with a powerful metaphor to abide beneath His wings of love. Psalm 91:4 speaks of resting in His care. “He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.” The Psalms are full of references about resting in the loving care of God.

The second verse speaks of danger, toil, and how we could very easily fail if we are not careful. The third verse reassures us, saying that He will supply our every need, and nothing we ask will be denied. The context of this second thought is asking for His help during times of stress, and He will never deny meeting our needs during those times. Things may not work out like we want, and will be in God’s good time. The most important thing is that He will use this as a time of growth and maturity for us. He will also help with the details of what we are struggling with. However, His most important priority is us.

I especially love the fourth verse, which talks about His taking care of us in any test, any struggle, and the fact that we can lean on Him. This refers to the moment in the upper room at the last supper, where Christ and the disciples are together, and John was reclining next to Him. Remember that the disciples did not sit at a dinner table like we do, but reclined on the floor. That posture allowed John, the youngest disciple, to lean close to Him. The picture is one of closeness and intimacy. We can lean on Him and he will bear the load with us. He works on us and helps us through the details of our struggle.

The chorus reminds us that He helps us with everything, everyday, no matter what.

One of the problems that frustrates us when faced with trials of this sort -- at least it is for me -- is waiting on God’s timing. We wish He would take care of everything quickly. Instead He treats us as if we can mature during the process -- and we wind up doing just that. We get to the place where we can push fears aside -- that feeling of dread in your gut. The troubling issue is still there, but you can look to Christ for help and He will help you approach it with more confidence than you have had before -- all the while making things happen behind the scenes.

God is good. He cares. I found a brief line in Isaiah 41:10, “...I will help you.” that I have been leaning on that line a lot lately. He will help in ways we cannot imagine. Talk to Him honestly and then learn to relax while He works on you and your issue. You might be surprised at how things turn out.

Thanks be to God.

Construction Ahead

Anybody else get tired of dodging orange barrels? Please say yes, because I definitely do. On the other hand, it is absolutely necessary, and in many cases, long overdue; like at our local Kroger, for example, with potholes eager to swallow your car.

Construction and orange barrels are part of life. Maintaining that construction, and even expanding it is also part of it. Without it we simply do not see growth or repair around us. Only deterioration.

So it is with our spiritual lives.

I used to think that if I could only achieve a certain level of spirituality I would be home free. Temptation would flee like a “scared deer,” to quote my dad. That was 64 years ago, and I have not achieved it yet.

Instead, I am growing, maturing, learning, still making mistakes, and still having to occasionally ask forgiveness. I am much further down the road than I have ever been, but am now going through some testing like I have never seen before. That testing is revealing a lot about myself, and it is painful. I’ll get to that in a moment.

I saw a quote on Facebook recently that was taken from the devotional The Praying Woman. God has already prepared the way. He’s just preparing you [me]. I added the word “me” in brackets, because the quote is so pertinent to my life right now.

Jesus’s words in Matthew 6:8 say the same thing. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Just think, before we even ask…amazing.

However, if that is the case, why do we have to ask? We must remember, asking is for us…not God. We need to commune with him. He “already knows…”

My oldest sister, Marian, is in a rehab facility in Northern Kentucky. She lived alone until recently, and took a bad fall in her apartment just a few weeks ago. It caused a minor brain bleed, but it also accelerated an approaching battle with dementia. Since she has no husband and no children, and my other sister, Anita, and brother, Buddy, both live in Florida, I am pretty much directing traffic getting the care Marian needs…myself being 3.5 hours away…one way. Anita is managing Marian's finances, and Buddy stands ready to do his part when the time comes.

I have learned a lot about myself during this time. I don’t like surprises, but have found out life has a lot of them. I am a quiet, introverted person, loving solitude, but have found out you can’t have that all the time. The details have had me fretting, which never helps. My tendency to worry has me putting too much immediately at the front; take care of this NOW. What I have learned is that taking this one step at a time, one issue at a time, while still trying to plan ahead is the only way to manage this. Sounds complicated, right? Oh yeah, it definitely is that and more. The worse part is watching your beloved sister gradually being lost to it all.

I must say, God has taught me a lot about all the details, medical, legal, etc, but mostly he has taught me a lot about myself, my faith, which has been weak at times, and my not so good ability to trust. I must also say, these things have been getting stronger. I have learned that it is not how you feel, it is what you know.

I have shared a lot about this with my daughter, Brit Eaton. I mentioned to her once that, rather than see all those details getting worked out, almost as if by a miracle, I have watched myself get stronger, be calmer, better able to manage things, and the details are slowly falling into place. It is almost like God is working on me first, and taking care of the details as they come. She replied, “Yeah, and that is the most important part, right?” She’s so wise.

I have found scripture a steadying force in my life as well. I am leaning on a line in Isaiah 41:10, “…I will help you.” That promise covers me like a blanket.

This kind of thing can get very expensive also. However, Paul reminded us in Philippians 4:19 that, “My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory.” Yeah, I need that one also.

Jesus reminded us in the Sermon on the Mount that our Father in heaven thinks we are much more important than birds and other creatures that depend on his care daily.

The most important lesson I have learned is that I have not “arrived” yet, and after 64 years of being a Christian I still have some growing to do. I am still under construction. But, I am ready to grow some more.

Thanks be to God for what he is showing me.