As night falls

I expect this kind of thing will happen more and more. I met a woman recently whose husband works at one of the local Christian counseling centers, which is in dire straits because of the economy. She told me that the center and its board are brainstorming ways to stay solvent. Her anxiety was palpable.

I felt bad for her, but it also seemed ironic that professional Christian counselors should panic. They are the counselors to the panicked! What do they tell their clients? I am supposing they tell them that God is in control of our lives, even when life seems to be spinning out of control.

I realize this sounds harsh, but I am thinking that if our faith doesn't work in the worst times, there is something wrong, and we must attend to it. As they say about the making of tea, the hot water merely brings out of the bag what was already in it. Sudden financial distress and other acute suffering merely reveal our spiritual lives for what they were all along. Jesus said as much: Only when the storm comes is the quality of the house's foundations shown. Were we 100 percent on the rock, or only about 20 percent?

It would be nice to know ahead of time that our foundation isn't very solid, but somehow that is very hard to tell in good times. As the repercussions of TARP and multiple "stimulus" packages and other governmental follies start lapping at our shores, we will learn the truth about ourselves: "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small" (Proverbs 24:10).

When David was in great distress, his friend Jonathan made a long journey to strengthen his foundations (1 Samuel 23:16). When Jonathan wasn't available, David had to do the job himself (1 Samuel 30:6). It is important that we learn to speak truth into our own lives. The night falls, and the children of God must be ready.

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