Pastor Charlie Rousey
Psalm 27:
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the
strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up
my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though
war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in
the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to enquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his
tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me:
therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing
praises unto the Lord.
Where is the first place you turn when trouble approaches or trials arise? As I look back on my life, I can see many times that my first response was “I got this.” After all, isn’t that part of the American DNA, to figure out the problem and then solve it? As I look back, I remember all the times I didn’t just fail at solving the problem, but I did not truly understand what the real problem was.
I started working for a church when I was 29, and we still owned some rental houses in the state we had just left. Soon after we left, some problems arose, and I went straight to my “I can fix this” mode. A few days later, I realized that I was not able to solve this problem, and at that moment the situation seemed beyond my control. I remember the moment I realized that only God could help me, and I literally cried out for His help. Within hours after I turned away from my own strength and abilities and turned to Him, the problem was miraculously solved.
After more than 20 years of seeing God work in my life, I have learned to turn toward Him. My desire for all of us is that through all of our trials and tribulations, we understand He hears our cries and wants to carry our burdens. God desires to set me on a rock and show others around me what His great love and power can do in the life of someone that is weak and fearful. Let’s decide to make our first move in times of trials be a move closer to God.