"There is great comfort in trusting the Lord with our very lives...[He is] infinitely loving and kind, tenderly watching over His earthly children and guiding the steps of the faithful." - Dr. James Dobson in his March 1994 newsletter
Don't Know What to Do?
(By Alan Smith)
A young and foolish pilot wanted to sound cool and show who was boss on the aviation frequencies. It was his first time approaching a field during the night time.
Instead of making any official requests to the tower, he said: "Guess who?"
The controller switched the field lights off and replied: "Guess where!"
It important for a pilot to be able to see the place where he is landing! There is a true story about a pilot who was flying a fighter jet in bad weather and was about to make his instrument approach to an airport. The air traffic controller called and asked how much fuel he had. -- "Plenty," he said.
"Well," the controller said, "We've got a little problem. There's a young pilot who is not instrument rated. He's lost in the clouds, and we were wondering if you could intercept him and lead him back to the airport."
"Sure," the pilot responded. He found the lost plane and pulled up beside it. He called on the radio and told the pilot to look out to his left. When the pilot of this small plane saw the powerful jet, he burst into tears of relief. As far as he was concerned, his life was about over. He would soon run out of fuel and crash.
"Don't worry," the test pilot said. "Everything's going to be OK. I'm going to pull in front of you several hundred yards. Do everything I do. When I turn, I'll turn gently. All you have to do is do exactly what I do."
So carefully the leader and the follower turned toward the airport and slowly descended. When they finally broke through the clouds at 500 feet, the frightened pilot saw the most beautiful sight. There in front of him was the runway, and he was perfectly set up to land. What a blessing that the young pilot had someone nearby that he could look to!
There's a story in the Bible where an ancient king of Judah must have felt that same sense of relief. Jehoshaphat's kingdom was being threatened by the armies of Ammon, Moab, "and others" (2 Chronicles 20:1). In fact, those armies were so large and so strong, Judah didn't stand a chance of surviving an assault. There seemed to be nothing Jehoshaphat could do about it, so he turned to God (which, incidentally, is not such a bad place for us to find ourselves!). Eventually, God rescued the people of Judah by causing the armies of the enemy to turn on one another. But it is the prayer of Jehoshaphat that I think is so valuable. In fact, I think this may become my favorite verse in the Bible:
"For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You." (2 Chronicles 20:12)
Is there a problem you're facing in your life that just seems overwhelming? Pray along with Jehoshaphat -- "God, I don't know what to do, but my eyes are on you!" Do you have a difficult decision to make and you don't know which course to take? "God, I don't know what to do, but my eyes are on you!" Are you suffering the attacks of enemies, those who would seek to do you harm? "God, I don't know what to do, but my eyes are on you!" Pray it today and pray it often.
Have a great day!
In The News:
Iran's Crackdown on Christians Hasn't Let Up
Monday, November 04, 2013
Four years remain in the pastor’s sentence for crimes against national security. Those crimes include holding church services and telling Muslims about the gospel.
Irani, 43, has served more than two years of his sentence, and has suffered deteriorating health. The Christian group Present Truth Ministries reports the husband and father of two children has endured beatings from Iranian guards and suffers from an inflammatory bowel disease that has crippled him at times. Prison officials haven’t offered sufficient medical treatment.
In September, Irani’s attorney appealed his prison sentence. Iranian authorities had granted freedom to 11 prisoners of conscience, and the pastor hoped a judge would reconsider his sentence. Present Truth reported the judge stated the only way he would pardon and release Irani was “if he repented and returned to Islam.” The ministry reports: “He will not accept this condition and will remain in prison.”
Dozens more Christians remain in Iranian prisons as well. In a country where less than half a percent of the population are Christians, devotion to Christianity remains dangerous, and in cases of male converts from Islam — punishable by death.
At least one Christian escaped death last year: A court acquitted and released Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani last September after an international outcry over his death sentence. The court had accused Nadarkhani of apostasy from Islam.
Other cases involve less severe sentences, but have gained widespread attention: Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini remains in Tehran’s Evin Prison, serving an eight-year sentence related to his Christian activities.
His wife, Naghmeh, hand-delivered a letter asking for her husband’s release to the staff of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a New York City hotel lobby in September. But in an interview with CNN, the new president said he couldn’t interfere with Iran’s due process.
For Christians arrested and convicted in Iran during speedy trials with scant evidence, most find that due process isn’t a pressing concern for Iranian courts. In July, a judge sentenced eight Iranian Christians to as much as six years in prison for “action against the national security” and “propaganda against the system.” Authorities arrested the Christians — who denied any political activities — during an evening prayer service.
Other Christians serve lengthy sentences with little international attention. Iranian pastor Farshid Fathi has spent nearly three years in prison for his Christian activity. A judge sentenced Fathi, 34, to six years in Evin prison.
Fathi spent nearly a year of that sentence in solitary confinement, and described in a letter from prison how interrogators used emotional manipulation to try to break his resolve. (He says officials falsely told him his wife had been arrested, and his father had suffered a heart attack.)
But Fathi also reports his faith remains strong. In early October, the Christian group Voice of the Martyrs published excerpts of another letter Fathi wrote from prison: “How can I complain about my suffering when my brothers and sisters are paying a high price for their faith all over the world? I recently learned about many people killed in front of a church in Pakistan. I also heard a young sister in Christ sharing about how she lost her family for the sake of the gospel and still she is willing to share the good news. … So when I look at all these heroes of faith, how can I complain about my suffering?”
c. 2013 WORLD News Service. Used with permission.
