'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus'

About all I have to say at this point about all that's going on in the world that everybody seems to be so freaked out about is, "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus." I love that I don't have to worry about anything that's going to happen or is not going to happen on the world stage. All I have to do is obey God. Oh, yeah, that brings to mind another old hymn: "Trust and Obey" ("Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey"). I'm getting a headache with all the concerns swimming around in my head from watching the news for, I don't know, a couple of hours. The other hour I was reading a novel that's based on "The Scarlet Letter," which I have read twice, once in high school and once a few years ago, one summer. The book is called "Hester," by Paula Reed, an English teacher from Columbine, Colorado. After the April 20, 1999 school shooting there, she decided to fulfill a lifelong ambition and become a novelist. It's pretty interesting, and light reading compared to what I am usually reading. Nice change. Both "The Scarlet Letter" and "Hester" are set in the 17th century, which is nice to read about as is the 19th century (my favorite). I have all these books that I haven't read and it's hard to take time to read them. But I'm trying to. I am also reading "The Gathering Storm" by Winston Churchill, the first of his six memoirs about the Second World War. I looked at the entire leatherbound set throughout practically my whole childhood, but didn't get them when I had the chance before the estrangement occurred with the sibling living with my mother before she died. I got the book from Thriftbooks. It's paperback and so thick (around 700 pages) that it's hard to keep open. Consequently, it's hard to read lying down, as in bed before retiring. You almost have to have it on a table so you can hold it open, so I can do that at lunch. "The Gathering Storm" is not the lightest reading in the world. Winston Churchill was amazing, I just lack the background of history I would like to have to fully understand in context some of what he writes. At the same time, I can learn a lot, looking up names and places and World War 2 events online for helpful information. Even without that, it's a good read because he was just such a good writer, and you get pieces of some of his speeches and addresses. I am not a history buff, I just like to learn, and I appreciate good writing. I also believe God is sovereign in history. So I don't worry about what's happening in the world anymore. Well, I worried a lot during the last four years, I have to admit. I worry less now, which is the opposite of some of you, I'm sure, and the opposite of some people who I am very close to in the world. During these days and times, I think a lot about what it must have been like to live during the American Civil War, and I do like to read about the Civil War some--not the battles, but how people lived during that time. I think that is kind of what we're living through right now, so far not a "kinetic" war, but a war, nontheless. They are having violent demonstrations, police officers are being assassinated, horrible things are happening everywhere, and there are plenty of things to worry about if anybody wants to worry about something. I am just not going to because Jesus said not to. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34 NKJV). As you know you should know what the "therefore" is there for, and the "therefore" is there because of what Jesus said before that verse, all aobut how God takes care of the lilies of the field and feeds the birds, and takes care of everything in the entire universe all the time. He did, however, point out that you should "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (verse 33), so maybe if you are not doing that, you might have more reason to worry. l have been believing the Bible and attempting to live by faith for many years now, and I can just tell you that it is much better to live this way than the way I lived before. I could never go back to trying to navigate life in this world without Christ in my life and renewing my mind in his word. In the same way I am not a "history buff," I am also not a Bible scholar and I am not a preacher. I am a teacher and a musician who used to make a living playing music, a long time ago. I thought that was the end-all and having my name on a marquee was the ultimate of successful achievements and my life would be full of similar accomplishments, only to get saved and have my life completely turned around. Without going into great detail about all that, now I don't want to do that anymore. I held onto it for a long time, but I have learned to live seeking God's will and life has been much better. I feel prepared for eternity and prepared for every day, and this is not the way life was before Christ (BC, as it has been referred to). So, why would I want to give that up and settle for obscurity and "be content with food and clothing" as the Bible calls for? Well, I can't explain all that, except to say that there is "peace that passes understanding" and "joy unspeakable and full of glory" following Jesus Christ. There are also hardships and difficulties and battles and heartaches. But isn't that part of all of life on this earth? Doesn't everybody suffer hardships and difficulties and battles and heartaches? So why should anyone decide to follow Jesus? I can't explain that very well, either, although I have tried. It always comes back to something I learned from reading the Bible and trying to live according to it. John 10:10 speaks of "life more abundant," but that abundance isn't in things the world is enamored with. God calls us higher than the things the world is enamored with. I just know that all I ever heard all my life before I was a Christian was, "Jesus died for your sins." I didn't understand that, but I kept hearing it, and one day someone took me to church and I heard the gospel preached and I believed it for the first time. I had been confirmed as an Episcopalian when I was about 12, I think. So I had the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed memorized. The only thing was I had never really heard the gospel preached, so when I finally heard it, I went all in. Other circumstances hindered me from following Jesus completely, but around seven years later, I really surrendered to God. So now the "abundant life" is unfolding in ways I knew nothing about as a nonbeliever. Knowing God in itself is the most wonderful thing of all. The worse thing is probably being hated and rejected by people you love. That hurts, but when you think of what Jesus went through on the cross for all of us, that hurt diminishes quite a bit, and you just keep loving those people and praying for them. Paul wrote these words in 2 Corinthians 4: "Therefore we do not lose heart.Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). So I'm going to leave you with that. Again, the "therefore" is there for a reason, but my time is up, you'll have to go look for that. I am going to read that chapter myself after I sign off from here. God knows I've been known to lose heart about things and needing to look up that verse, so I am happy to share it with you. Therefore, don't lose heart, and, Lord willing, I'll check back with you tomorrow.