'In Times Like These'

December 28, 2024, tonight I want to share a poet by Helen Steiner Rice. She was born in 1900 and died in 1981. You can still find her poetry in some greeting cards. She wrote a lot of poems. This one is called "In Times Likek These" We read the headlines daily and listen to the news, We shake our heads despairingly and glumbly sing the blues-- We are restless and disssatisfied and we do not feel secure, We are vaguely discontented with the things we muyst endure... This violent age we live in is filled with nameless fears As we listen to the newscasts tht come dailly to our ears, And we view the threatening future with sad sobriewty As we're surrounded daily by increased anxiety ... How can we find security or stand on solid ground When there's violence and dissension and confusion all around; Where can we go for refuge from the rising tides of hate, Were can we find a haven to excape this shameful fate... So instead of reading headllines that disturb the heart and mind, Let us open up the BIBLE and in doing so we'll find That this age is no different from the millions gone before, But in every hour of crisis God has opened up a door For all who seek His guidance and trust His all-wise plan, For God provides protection beyond that devised by man... And we learn that each TOMORROW is not ours to understand, But lies safely in the keeping of the great Creator's Hand, And to have the steadfast knowledge that WE NEVER WALK ALONE And to rest in the assurance that our EVERY NEED IS KNOWN Will help dispel our worries, our anxieties and care, For doubt and fear are vanquished in THE PEACEFULNESS OF PRAYER --by Helen Steiner Rice There's a hymn by the same title, so I was drawn to this poem. I have had this book for a long time. it was published in 1985, a few years after her death. I found this one particularly appropriate to the times we are living in now. Helen Steiner Rice was born just a few years after my grandparents were born and died just a few years before my grandmother died at 100. My grandmother was not in good health for the last several years of her life, and I am not sure I want to live to be 100, but the truth is that none of us knows when we are going to die, we just know that we will. Rice wasa public speaker. I didn't know that. I had kind of always believed that in order to be successful, a person needed to be a public figure of some sort or another. I am not sure I believe that anymore, and I am glad to be rid of that notion. I no longer believe it, and yet I still tend to regret not having achieved the success I was looking for in my various endeavors. The important thing for me now is to simply seek God's will and share with others as He leads whatever encouragement I can and try to be a light in this dark world. I think Helen Steiner Rice did that, and she has gone on to be with the Savior that she obviously adored. That is an inspiration to me. So I find it so sad to read that famous people that we admire may not have believed in God or in heaven and hell or in the deity of Jesus or any of the truths that he came and lived and died (and rose again) to demonstrate. I am reminded of the old Hymn, "Oh, For a Thousand Tongues to sing my great Redeemer's Praise." That's just one line and what a great line that is. You may have heard we are doing well to use the one we have, and I believe that. There is a lot of trouble and strife and confusion and despair in this world, and yet God has given us so much to be thankful for. He has given us many reasons to live and be joyful even in a world filled with loneliness and tragedy. I am hopeful that my life may have an uplifting effect on someone sometime, just in my everyday life in the midst of the life God has given me. That's all I can really hope for, because all we have to give to God or to the world is ourself. This was short tonight, but I had a great conversation with my brother today who reminded me that it's the process that's important. If you're going to write, write, and don't worry where it takes you. Just write. Whatever you do, the Bible says, do it as unto the Lord and not as unto man. In other words, stir up your spirit and let out the things that God has put in you. I have only scratched the surface tonight, but I kind of ran out of time. But if I didn't write a little, I would feel like I had fallen too short of the mark. Some things you have to try to be faithful to keep doing them, no matter what, and so, that's what I'm going to keep doing. God bless you. We are almost to the end of this year. I hope you are enjoying every day that the Lord has made.