You and I are living in the perilous times prophesied about in Scripture (2 Timothy 3:1). Unwise decisions made by our leaders have caused great anxiety and strain on common people like you and me. How shall we respond to this bad news?

Adversity is an inevitable part of human existence (Ecclesiastes 7:14). This morning, we are going to take a brief look at tragic or challenging events in the lives of Abraham (Genesis 22), David (2 Samuel 12), Job (Job 1), Jeremiah (Lamentations 3:1-24), Daniel (Daniel 6), Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3:16-19), and Paul and Silas (Acts 16:16-25). We will see that in the face of the loss of children, the loss of possessions, the invasion of a foreign army that would result in the plunder of their homeland, intense persecution, or the prospect of execution for the crime of following the true and living God, they all responded to these great trials in the same way. They praised God and worshipped!

With exceeding great and precious promises, such as Romans 8:28, and the assurance that what God began in us He will complete (Philippians 1.6), we can face these perilous times with great confidence. So let me exhort and encourage you today, saints, to look to the hills from whence comes your help (Psalm 121), and look to Jesus, for our redemption draws near (Luke 21:28)!