JVI-873 SeptOct'03 PT Mag - Jack Van Impe Ministries

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Since America and its coalition allies went to war with Iraq, all of us have been focused on the events of that conflict. Not only did we rejoice for the military victory won, but we also grieved over the casualties suffered during the war and in Jack Van Impe Ministries January/February 2004 Rexella Van Impe 18 the continuing campaign to establish a peaceful Iraq. Many of our soldiers have been wounded or slain in the ongoing terrorism there. In trying to stop terrorism worldwide, our president feels that it is necessary to stay and try to win the peace in this violence-ridden nation. Every day the deadly conflict reminds us that political freedom comes at a terrible price. I’m sure we cannot begin to understand how a soldier must feel when he comes under attack, is wounded, and falls. Can
you imagine the shock, pain, fear, and dread that sweeps over him (or her)? How awful to be hurt and lost, not knowing which way to go. Worse still, to be injured and disabled, not able to move, not knowing who is out there … or approaching! What great comfort it must be when someone comes to that fallen soldier and says simply, “Hold on — help is on the way!” Understand, the person who delivers that message may not be the one who can actually help the sufferer. Perhaps it’s a fellow soldier or a civilian onlooker — not the medic who administers drugs for pain, starts an IV, and calls for transport to a hospital. Yet how welcome — how vital — the gift of the messenger who simply assures the suffering soldier that help is on the way. Blessed assurance Too often we discover that our own world is a frightening, confusing place of adversity and conflict, and we can find ourselves in trouble, stricken with grief, unable to save ourselves. How good it is to know that we have promises from God in heaven that assure us we are not alone and that help is coming. Psalm 46:1 says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. When we have a covenant blessing like that, we can appropriate it without feeling any kind of apprehension — divine protection, strength, and deliverance is assured. When we are in trouble or stricken with grief, we have more than just a friendly encouragement that aid is coming. We know that our Best Friend is on the way to help us, and it is none other than Jesus! That’s what the songwriter was talking about when she penned the words,“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!” The psalmist surely was keenly aware of the divine resource that is ours when he looked to heaven in the midst of a trying time and cried out, Help, Lord (Psalm 12:1). I believe that he expected God to come to his aid. One of the worst forms of suffering people endure is the icy fear of the unknown — the paralyzing anxiety over what might happen. Have you ever experienced that unsettling uncertainty that shatters your composure and ruins your peace of mind? We don’t have to heal the fallen or solve their problems, but simply point them to the One who can — a powerful God, a powerful Savior, a powerful Holy Spirit. Sometimes people are so hurt, so fearful, so anxious that in the long, dark night of the soul, they lose all hope. Not knowing where to turn for solace and help, they sink into the desperate quagmire of despair.Without anything to hold on to, people can literally become so lost that they die. In both the above cases, the ministry of the messenger who simply reports that help is on the way can actually make the difference between life and death. “Don’t give up! You’re not alone! Help is coming” can be a light in the darkness of fear and a beacon of hope to someone deep in the abyss of desolation. How remarkable that the messenger may not be able to solve the crisis, but what a valuable gift he shares simply by dispelling apprehension and restoring hope. Could you do something as simple as By Rexella Van Impe being a voice of encouragement to those around you who may have fallen from an enemy attack? That is what we try to do every week on our television program, “Jack Van Impe Presents.”We keep reaching out to those who are hurting and afraid with a message of hope and encouragement that the help they need is available … pointing them unto him that is able to keep (them) from falling, and to present (them) faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24). Trouble and tribulations You see, Christians sometimes labor under the illusion that when they accept the Lord, they’ll never have a heartbreak or disappointment, never have a broken friendship or financial setback, never falter or go astray, but that’s not true. Jesus said, In the world ye shall have tribulation (John 16:33). Have you found this to be true? Do you know what it is to have trials, temptations, and trouble? I thought so. We are not immune to the bad things that can infect our lives. But while Jesus acknowledged the world of tribulation we live in, He didn’t stop there. He went on to declare, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. And Psalm 34:19 declares, Jack Van Impe Ministries January/February 2004 Rexella Van Impe 19
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JVI-873 SeptOct'03 PT Mag - Jack Van Impe Ministries

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