WILL THINGS EVER CHANGE?

this one is very touching

WILL THINGS EVER CHANGE?

Numbers 21:8 "The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."

I often wonder if things will ever change. As I spoke to our Apache people on the reservation last weekend, I could sense their feeling of hopelessness as they worried about their children and grandchildren, wondering what tomorrow would bring. The rapid takeover of the very soul of our youth as well as adults by the temptation of drugs and alcohol comes from every direction. Broken promises from those you trust and idle words from people you brought into your life as friends, continue to bring pain and suffering. While I heard a lot of good things that were happening among the people, the people could not help but share the negative things that were destroying their lives. One Elder was concerned because in four weeks four teenagers had decided that they had had enough with life and had committed suicide. Can you imagine losing four teenagers in a place where everyone knows everyone and where most people are related in some way or another?

It seemed like people were coming to me for answers while in my heart I felt I had none to offer. I could sense the pain they felt as I can sense the pain my ancestors felt as they had to face an ever-changing world. So while a lot of our troubles we bring onto ourselves, I also realize that a lot of our troubles we did not deserve. It seems like I am going back and forth with this dilemma. Maybe I am looking and hunting for a verse to share or a profound statement to make. But I must confess, the answer is really so simple and in many ways obvious. Because the only answer I have for you is God. I might not understand the situation and circumstance but I do know God. I do know that God will help us through and give us the strength and even change the heartfelt disappointments of life. So what is the answer? I don't know, but I do know that God wants us to trust Him and deliver into His hands the headaches and heartaches of life that just do not make sense. So no matter how bad things get, we can always look up to God who is ready and willing to help us. Just as Moses put a bronze snake on a pole that whenever the people who got bit by the poisonous snakes looked at it were saved, so when we look at God and trust that He can take care of us, we will also be saved as He takes care of us.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor