How do we face new challenges? What do we do with the uncertain future? If we listen to the political candidates we can hear that the future looks terrible if the one who is talking is not elected, and if that one is elected then everything will just be great. If we listen to some financial advisors, we will become wealthy or at least secure and able to live comfortably throughout life no matter how old we live to be.

In Proverbs 3:5-7, the Bible states, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”

Solomon, the son of David and the king who followed his father as king of Israel, wrote the Book of Proverbs. He was the king who prayed for wisdom and was granted it from God. He teaches us that first we must put our faith in the Lord and not make decisions about our future only with our own wisdom but seek God’s guidance in facing the future.

In Romans 10-17, Paul says, “So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Therefore we realize that there is wisdom and guidance to be found in the word of God if we read and study, seeking to find God’s will for our future as individuals and as a nation.

Do you believe everything you read in the newspaper, see on television, hear on the radio or view on the internet? Sometimes there are mistakes made that have to be corrected or quotations made by these sources that are just not true; but the Bible is truth from God, the creator of heaven and earth. To receive guidance from the Word Of God, then we need to know what it teaches.

There are many Old Testament characters that faced the future with faith in the Lord, but I will identify Joshua in this article. In Joshua 1:1-9, we see him facing the challenge of following Moses as the leader of the children of Israel, to lead them into the land that the Lord said, “Which I do give unto them.” The Lord assured Joshua that if he would be faithful to his word that He would deliver to them the land, defeat the enemies, and be with him and not fail him nor forsake him.

A New Testament character that lived by faith and total trust in the Lord was the virgin Mary. She faced the great challenge of giving birth to the Christ child. This could be a very dangerous decision because an unmarried woman discovered to be expecting a baby was to be stoned to death; also she would have to think of what Joseph would say and do because he was planning to marry her. In Luke 1:37, the angel Gabriel said, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

Joshua kept his faith in God and had success and concluded in Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Mary followed God’s word and said in Luke 1:38, “Be it unto me according to thy word.”

Let each of us face the challenges of the future with our trust in and commitment to the Lord and to learning and following His Word.

-Ed Ganus