Finding Stability in an Unstable World

The world today is rife with instability and struggles that seem to have no answers. Jesus told us in John 16:33 that there would be times like this.

“In the world ye shall have tribulation…” 

The good news is that as believers we don’t have to be overcome with the instability, tribulation, and trouble in the world. The rest of that verse gives Jesus’ words of comfort.

“…but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” 

The question for us as believers is not IF there is darkness and trouble to deal with in this sin-cursed world. The question is HOW do we deal with this darkness?

God wants us to thrive in the darkness. Isaiah 45:3 speaks of the “treasures of darkness” that God wants to give us. If you look farther in that chapter, you find that God is the One who created the darkness (Isaiah 45:7). This darkness is not referring to sin but to the things in our lives that will help us grow through the darkness and drive us to Him. Some examples of this darkness are things like when God allowed Joseph’s brothers to sell him into slavery. God wasn’t forsaking Joseph, but He used the darkness to do something only God could do—save His own people through Joseph’s rise to power in Egypt. Of course, Job is a great example of this darkness. He was tested and tried in every way imaginable just short of death, yet God used that testing of a righteous man to bring glory to Himself and to teach Job some very important lessons.

What is your experience with this darkness? Maybe you have faced death in your family unexpectedly, a serious or terminal illness, a wayward child, a loss of employment, and the list could go on. How are we as believers supposed to deal with this darkness? We must choose to trust the One who has allowed the darkness and rest in the knowledge that He is walking through the darkness with us. Psalm 23:4 says, ​

“though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.”

Did you catch the wording there? He is walking through the valley with us. He doesn’t ever take us to the valley and leave us there to fend for ourselves. He doesn’t even take us to the valley to die. For the believer, death is merely the doorway to eternity. We don’t have to fear anything in the darkness because God is with us. When you feel as if you are alone in the darkness, remember this ​

“As near as your difficulty is to you—God is even nearer.” [1]

Psalm 119:151 says it this way: ​

“Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy commandments are truth”

It would be nice if we knew all the reasons why God allows the darkness, but that is not the way God does things. Sometimes we don’t understand the WHY of darkness, but we must be willing to trust the WHO. Ken and Mardi Collier put it this way: 

“When there is a gap between the wisdom and ways of God and our understanding of the wisdom and ways of God, we must fill the gap with trust.” [2]

So how do we navigate these times of darkness in our lives? We must run to the One Who provides the stability in our lives. Because God never changes (Heb 13:8), we can trust Him to provide us with the help needed in the darkness. And many times, when we look back at the valley we walked through with the Lord, we then realize the treasures that have come to us as a result of the journey through the darkness.

The following is taken from a booklet written by Ken and Mardi Collier called The EMERGENCY PACK. These truths are the types of things we must rest in during the dark times to help us find stability in this unstable world. The next time you are walking through the darkness, take some time to meditate on these passages of Scripture and allow God to minister to you and lead you to the stability that you so dearly crave.

Four Stabilizing Truths[3]

1. God’s LOVE for me will never change.
   1 John 4:9-10; 1 John 4:16; 1 John 4:19; Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 5:7-8; Romans 8:35-39
   
   
2. 2. God’s PURPOSE for me is Christlikeness.
   John 13:14-17; Romans 8:28-29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 2:6
   
   
3. God’s WORD for me is the final, right answer.
   Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3; Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:15-17
   ​
4. God’s GRACE for me is sufficient.
   ​2 Corinthians 9:8; 2 Corinthians 12:8-10; 2 Timothy 2:1; Titus 2:11-12; Hebrews 4:15-16

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The Emergency Pack Verses

How do these truths affect your outlook on whatever you are facing today?

[1] Collier, Ken and Mardi. The EMERGENCY Pack. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2006.
[2] Collier, Ken and Mardi. The EMERGENCY Pack. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2006.
​[3] Taken from pages 20-23 of the book mentioned above.