| Isaiah 41:13 – “For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.'” |
“For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.'”
Last Thursday, I stopped on my way home from work to check the air in my truck tires. They were all low by 6 lbs psi. I got them up to specs, and checked the full size spare too. I have to lay on the ground under the tailgate of the pickup to see it. I noticed a split in the center of the tread. I put the air gauge on it and it did not register anything. I put air to it and it blew right out the crack I had noticed. I was doing all this because our middle son was borrowing it the next night, and I wanted it to be good for him. So, I changed my plans and headed off to Discount Tire to buy a tire. They had one tire that matched it in size. $150 plus tax ($12.63) disposal fee ($3.00) and mounting, balancing ($22.00). And it is only a 40,000 mile tire. Good enough for a spare. It is a wakeup call to me that EVERYTHING is going up in price, not just eggs and gas. What we pay for food in restaurants, groceries across the board are higher. I quit eating some things because they doubled in price at the most competitive grocery stores. And unless your income is doubling, you have to make choices. The day before, I bought a serpentine belt for my truck, as I thought it had a crack in it. $46.50. I removed the old belt (after I got home from Discount Tire) and inspected it over its entire length. Inside and outside. No crack. I put the old belt back on and took the new one back for a refund. I couldn’t throw away that much money if it wasn’t necessary. Financially, life can be an obstacle course. How much money do I need to retire? Well, not knowing what the future holds makes that hard to answer. We sing a song at church, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow”, which helps me have peace and let go of my worries.
I don’t know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine,
For its skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.
Refrain:
Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.
Every step is getting brighter,
As the golden stairs I climb;
Every burden’s getting lighter;
Every cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eye,
At the ending of the rainbow,
Where the mountains touch the sky. [Refrain]
I don’t know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the one who feeds the sparrow,
Is the one who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion,
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I’m covered with His blood. [Refrain]
I sometimes worry about the money that we have laid aside for retirement. It is invested, and the value goes up and down. I don’t know if social security will be there for us. There are no guarantees. Governments rise and fall. But one thing that is sure. There is an empty tomb which is proof of the power of God to care for me. Just as the Red Sea parted for Moses, and as the walls of Jericho fell for Joshua, and as Isaac was born to a 99 year old Abraham, “and as good as dead”, born out of Sarah’s dead womb, and as a man born blind received sight, and a thief on a cross received mercy. God’s power is real, and can take care of me. Father in heaven, help me to trust in You, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
- Jeff Beall
