During times of calamity, we might wonder, “Where is the Lord’s eye focused in all this?” We can be sure that God is not focused on the wild plans of deranged leaders, no matter how powerful they are. “He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless … When He will also blow on them, and they will wither, and the whirlwind will take them away like stubble” (Isaiah 40:23-24).

Isaiah tells us, “No sooner are these ‘seeds’ planted and take root in the ground than God blows on them, and they wither. The wicked rulers of the earth are caught up in his whirlwind and swept away as chaff. He reduces them to nothing.” To prove this to us, Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Even in the midst of great world turmoil, God’s primary focus isn’t on the tyrants; his focus is on every circumstance, every detail, in his children’s lives. Christ says in the very next verse, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will” (10:29).

In Christ’s day, sparrows were the meat of the poor and sold two for a penny. On the streets, bird catchers could be seen carrying baskets full of snared sparrows. Yet, Jesus said, “Not one of these small creatures falls to the ground without your Father knowing it.” According to Bible commentator William Barclay, Jesus’ word “fall” in the above verse signifies more than the bird’s death. The Aramaic meaning is “to light upon the ground.” In other words, “fall” here indicates every little wounded hop a tiny bird makes.

Christ is telling us, in essence, “Your Father’s eye is on the sparrow, not just when it dies but even when it lights upon the ground. God sees its every little struggle, and he is concerned over every detail of its life.”

Jesus then says, “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (10:31). Simply put, the one who made and counted all the stars, who keeps the galaxies in their orbits, has his eye fixed on you. So find rest and assurance in him!

James said, “If you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth” (James 3:14).

As messengers of Christ’s gospel, we simply cannot hold onto jealousy or envy. James makes it clear that this will hinder us from having a testimony with spiritual authority because we are living a lie.

In plain terms, the sin of jealousy or envy is a bitter poison. King Saul provides the clearest example of this in all of scripture. In 1 Samuel 18, we find David returning from a battle in which he slaughtered the Philistines. As he and King Saul rode into Jerusalem, the women of Israel came out to celebrate David’s victories, dancing and singing, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7).

Saul was wounded by this joyous celebration, thinking to himself, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” (18:8). Immediately, Saul was consumed by a spirit of jealousy. In the very next verse, we read the deadly effect it had on him. “Saul eyed [envied] David from that day forward” (18:9).

Saul seethed, pouting in self-pity. He probably thought, “I’ve worked so hard, giving up everything to serve these people, and now they turn on me. They’re singing the praises of my assistant minister while they ignore me.”

Tragically, after this, “Saul became David’s enemy continually” (18:29). The truth of this story is that, no matter how loudly the people cheered for David, God’s Spirit was still upon Saul and Israel still loved him. The Lord’s promise to build him an everlasting house was clearly still in place. Had Saul acknowledged his envy and drawn near to the Lord, God would have heaped honors on him; and David, his loyal captain, would have gladly secured the kingdom for Saul with his military skills. But Saul would not humble himself; and as a result, the Spirit of the Lord departed from him (see 18:12).

In these troubling days, our first priority should be to draw near to Jesus. Spend time in prayer, make him the most important work in your life, and he will show you his heart. By his Spirit, he will remove from you all that is unlike Christ, and he will pour out his spiritual anointing on you.

Our trust in God pleases him, and we are counted as righteous like Abraham because we heed the call to entrust all our tomorrows into his hands (see Romans 4:3). Jesus also calls us to this way of living. “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:31-33).

Jesus then adds, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (6:34). Jesus doesn’t mean that we are not to plan ahead. Rather, he is simply saying, “Don’t be anxious or troubled about tomorrow.” When we think about it, most of our anxieties are about what might happen tomorrow. We are constantly harassed by two little words: What if?

What if the economy fails and I lose my job? How will our family survive? What if I lose my health insurance? What if my faith fails me in trying times? We all have many “what if” anxieties.

Jesus interrupts our “what ifs” and tells us, “Your heavenly Father knows how to take care of you. You don’t need to worry because your Father knows you need all these things, and he is faithful to feed you, clothe you and supply all your needs.”

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? … Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:26-29).

We gladly give all our yesterdays to the Lord, turning over to him our past sins, failures, doubts and fears. So why don’t we do the same with our tomorrows?

Paul says, “One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Philippians 3:13). I urge you to trust the Lord with all your tomorrows and let your present trial preach the message of his faithfulness.

“Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (2 Corinthians 7:6).

Paul took a ministry trip to Troas where he was to be joined by his spiritual son Titus. He longed to see his godly son in Christ and knew his spirits would be lifted by his presence. Yet after Paul arrived in Troas, Titus didn’t show up.

Doors of ministry opened for Paul in Troas, but the apostle’s heart had grown heavy as he waited for the arrival of Titus. Paul wrote of the experience, “When I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find Titus my brother … [so] I departed for Macedonia” (2 Corinthians 2:12-13).

Paul did something he had never done in his life, something that was contrary to everything he preached; he walked away and wandered restlessly to Macedonia. What a picture of a wounded soldier of the cross. The great apostle was beaten down in mind, body and spirit. Why? What had brought Paul to such a point? The apostle himself explains it. “I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother.” He was alone, and he desperately needed fellowship.

Satan always comes to attack us when we are weary from battle. That is when we are most vulnerable to his lies, and the enemy might have buffeted Paul with two vicious ones: “Titus hasn’t come because he has rejected you” or “Titus isn’t here because you are no longer effective, Paul. Your ministry is simply not bearing fruit.”

If you have walked in intimacy with the Lord, you know very well what Paul was facing. Satan is the father of lies, and right now he may be sending you similar lies. “Everyone has rejected you. You have no place in God’s kingdom work. You’re just taking up space.”

Titus made it to Macedonia, and he arrived with a refreshing spirit. Paul’s heart was uplifted as the two men fellowshipped, and he wrote, “I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all [my] tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:4).

God uses people to refresh people! Today, look for an opportunity to be a Titus to someone who is downcast in spirit. Perhaps a simple phone call will bring consolation and refreshing to a brother or sister in Christ and result in healing of spirit.

“Hezekiah … did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered” (2 Chronicles 31:20-21).

In so many words, Scripture is saying that Hezekiah was the greatest king Israel ever had. We are told that his heart was so set on the Lord that no king before or after him was like him. Then consider the very next verse: “After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities thinking to win them over to himself” (32:1).

Note the opening phrase: “After these deeds of faithfulness …” This refers to all the good that Hezekiah had done: his walk of truth and holiness; his seeking of God; his cleaving to the Lord; his fight against sin and compromise; his deep prayer and trust; the national revival he led. In the wake of these blessed things, Scripture says, then the devil came in. Principalities and powers of darkness surrounded the righteous king and God’s people, waging an all-out war to bring them down and destroy their faith.

Yes, this all came about after the establishment of Hezekiah’s many ministries, which were stable, mature, well-grounded. Satan wasn’t wasting his powers on a weak, inexperienced, wavering child of God; he was aiming his most intense weapons at a spiritual giant. This godly man wasn’t living in sin or rebellion; he was one of God’s most faithful servants. And yet, virtually overnight, Hezekiah found himself in an impossible situation. And the Lord did not explain why this terrible siege had befallen him.

In Hezekiah, we see a clear illustration of the devil’s plan against every devoted servant of God. In our own times of trial and temptation, Satan comes to us bringing lies: “You’re a failure, otherwise you wouldn’t be going through this. There’s something wrong with you and God is displeased.” The Bible tells us that God supernaturally delivered Hezekiah (see 1 Kings 19:35). And ever since the cross of Christ, God’s people have had even better promises than Hezekiah had.

Remember, pray, even in silence, and refuse to fear Satan’s attacks. God himself will deal with your enemy, and he will work his plan to deliver you!

The healings Christ performed were instantaneous, visible to those who were present. “He said to the paralytic, ‘Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ And he arose and departed to his house” (Matthew 9:6-7). The crippled man with the gnarled body lying by the pool of Bethesda suddenly had an outward, physical change so that he could run and leap (see John 5:5-8). This was a miracle that had to astonish and move all who saw it. Another instantaneous miracle!

The feedings that Christ did were progressive. He offered up a simple prayer of blessing, then broke the bread and the dried fish, never giving a sign or a sound that a miracle was taking place. Yet, to feed that many people, there had to be thousands of breakings of that bread and those fish, all throughout the day. And every single piece of bread and fish was a part of the miracle.

This is just how Jesus performs many of his miracles in people’s lives today. We pray for instantaneous, visible wonders, but often our Lord is quietly at work, performing a miracle piece by piece, bit by bit. We may not be able to hear it or touch it, but he is at work, shaping our deliverance beyond what we can see.

You may be in the middle of a miracle right now and simply not be seeing it. You’re discouraged because you don’t see any evidence of God’s supernatural work on your behalf. David said, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears” (Psalm 18:6).

Think of one difficulty you are facing right now, your greatest need, your most troubling problem. You’ve prayed about it for so long. Do you really believe the Lord can and will work it out in ways you can’t conceive? That kind of faith commands the heart to quit fretting or asking questions. It tells you to rest in the Father’s care, trusting him to do it all in his way and time.