There is no doubt that we are living in troubled times and an uncertain future, with economies going bust, financial structure in ruins, wars and chance of nuclear conflict, poverty on mass scale and the threat of fatal viruses of plague proportions; these threats shake our existence and survival for planet earth.
Back in the 1960’s there was a hope that spread from the youth in a peace movement, to end hostility and promise equality and justice for all.
The ideal society did not materialize, what came was the booming enterprise of the financial markets and technology increased to provide mass knowledge at our fingertips and the entertainment world exploded into great heights of production and big screen exhilaration.
Then came 9-11 a terrorist backlash upon the western world and the financial capitalism, spreading hatred and fear in the core of our free world society.
Rumours of conspiracy create theories about the powers and hidden forces that rule the world. Conspiracy theories over-shadow the confidence we have placed on world powers to resolve the crises and remove threats to peace.
Who can you trust and are the peace war efforts all for oil? What are the world leaders plans really about and are they working for the common good of mankind, or for control and domination of the resources of the planet?
Do we control the masses perhaps and keep order for the establishment of global government, by an elite power set of rulers, who are hidden and few in number.
However, now we see there are many factions and divisions, so there is no unity but a wrestling match for domination.
To top it all off, it seems that the weather and nature has gone extreme and it is creating catastrophic destruction on planet earth, with earthquakes shaking the planet and tsunamis leaving devastation and havoc.
People are crying out for some kind of deliverance in these times and are desperate for answers of hope for the future.
Lets take a look at real deliverance and hope coming in desperate times:
Then following on in Psalm 107:10 – 16 -
We read on Psalm 107:17 – 22 -
What about money? Provision? Do finances appear out of thin air and drop down from the sky? Can God intervene in the global, capitalistic, financial markets of the forex exchange of wealth and currencies? Can He transfer money from an account and make payments and remove the debts piled up against us?
How do we combat our lack in a world economic system driven by debt, credit cards and printing of paper money?
The debts are ballooning out of control and eventually will take down countries, as well as large global corporations.
Psalm 107 has something to say about it!
Business – Economy – Finances.
And now for some meat in the sandwich, some further insight and much needed help for us all in dealing with troubled times.
In verse 26 we read that we experience two states in our searching and desperation, we mount up to the heavens and then we go down to the depths.
What is this referring to?
When trouble comes our way we begin to search for answers, that is after trying the usual fail safe plans and all of the back up and the emergency, alternative solutions are applied.
What happens when all of our usual practices are attempted and they also fail?
Human hope kicks in, which is a good thing, as it is an anchor for survival and provides momentum, rather than just giving up in despair.
If you believe that God will help you, this is the point that you may begin to look to God for new solutions, going deeper into the endless resources of Heaven.
Maybe you are applying all of the principles that you know in your faith experience this far, standing on what you know and still the answer is not forth-coming.
What are the depths for the believer? At this point, it is going deeper into unchartered waters, where the sea becomes dark, due to the great depths of the unknown.
This is the place where you are looking beyond the known and your asking, seeking and knocking begins to kick in, with a new hope and although, all looks black and unseen, it is a good place to be, as the search will take you where you haven't been before into fresh revelation, innovations come by inspiration from this place of seeking God.
Going deep is a new day of growth and trust in God, as what you are facing is bigger than what you have encountered before, which pulls you out of the shallow waters of the comfortable to the deeper regions of new frontiers of faith.
During this process the soul can get very distressed and your good old faith methods may be ineffective in this age of new challenges, as now you are constantly harassed by the torrential waves, that hammer away at your security and threaten a shipwreck of the good old vessel, that carried you satisfactorily through the challenges of the past.
God always comes and is faithful to bring a turnaround as His Word confirms it and He has placed this hope as an anchor in our soul, to keep us pressing in for answers that He already has provided, by His covenant to the Sons and Daughters of His Kingdom.
Before we look at the next part of the journey towards entering into the pioneering of the unchartered promises of God.
What if you don't have faith in God? Or your belief system is undeveloped and still in the shallow parts of your growth. What if your security is in the perceived knowledge and the expected reliable instruments of this world?
After all we grow up learning the tools of our trade, thats what gets us through in life, we just need to perform to the best of our ability, which is the familiar and gets us through the day!
When desperation sets in, something inside of us draws a kind of hope for the future and there is an instinct to go beyond our familiar territory for answers, into the new age of glistening hope.
This is a very natural human instinct to hope for a better future, perhaps we then may look up to the heavens in the regions of the unknown, space-time continuum and where the universal gods of good fortune reside, looking for a hope somewhere in the ying and yang, synchronous, fortune matrix of the heavens.
They may reply somehow to the special chosen ones, but all to often for the regular guy it seems that the heavens remain silent and don't deliver the any solution, no windfall comes down, there is no good luck coming our way, then like in a cycle, the wave we are on moves from positive territory to negative, we are pulled downwards to the depths of the alternate waves.
Don't give up!
This is a familiar pattern that has been before, well not exactly the same because we are now in the thick of it!
But, there always was a way up again, even the 300 fighting warriors gave it a go. We are not facing a 100,000 fighting men arrayed against us, nevertheless it does seem like all odds are against us sometimes.
Lets study the physics of a wave, or is it a meta physics? There is a constant cycle of up and down going on, a repeated shape that does have a bottom of a cycle and then there is a progression to neutral and then back up to the top.
We can call this the Bio Rhythms of Life waves and continuous cycles that have different levels and experiences during the course that it takes us on the timeline.
Waves are oscillating from a level place to a high and then back to level, followed by the corresponding low then repeating again in continuous cycles.
However on our time line - it is not always constant and proportional. Why are we are all progressing at different rates through our lows and highs?
We all need to graduate to the next wave by going through the current cycle in our life experience.
We cant stay on a plain sailing forever, or as much as we would prefer a relishing party mode high.
That is why we cling on to the highs and try to inject in to ourselves any experience or at times a substance that will replicate the highs.
We don't want to leave that comfortable place and the feeling of success.
There is a vibe that comes with the high places and the calm places and it feels good so we don't want that feeling to stop, like when it is Friday the weekend is here and party mode is switched on, we groove well until Sunday, then bang! Monday!
The journey upwards is challenging, stimulating and an adventure of learning with expectations and struggles, developing our resolve and diversity of solutions, this is where our innovation came and this is a healthy development cycle for us all to grow and progress in our progression into new seasons of change.
Whenever we got a plan and it was entirely new, like learning an instrument, or running a marathon, climbing the biggest mountain it was hard at first and we had to train take on new skills and find education to develop into the place of reaching our goal and future dream.
The experiences of life do not remain stagnant and are not fixed on a level line or a constant loop of a program, there are ebbs and flows and dips to contend with and to master.
We wont develop when we are consistently on the status quo level playing ground, we need to launch out towards the next level of our new day.
We all need the times of rest and refreshing as well, that is OK and healthy to have time out and regroup and recharge as we prepare for the next phase.
There are seasons that we go through, just like nature there are times of winter with little growth, cold and harsh and then spring comes and so on to grow through, we need to go through to grow up.
Just as there are seasons on a smaller scale, there is also a larger scale of the ages and times that we live in, where there are shifts and currents and we need to be aware of the times we are living in to catch the right wave and be prepared, gain some new skills to tackle the future.
Learning to fly is where we are all at somewhere on the progression, up or down in the middle, we fit into and cant avoid the bio rhythms of life - so it is time to overcome black obstacles, take up the challenge and mount up on eagles wings.
To take you higher than ever before.
During the low cycles and times that can be frustrating when we cant get ahead, our emotions can be down, we need to dig deep and the human resource machine is still capable to look for innovation and the new horizons in the depths of unexplored possibilities.
After all, we have come out of the pits in the past, so there must be a way. All searching and research is healthy for our survival and a normal process, in that we don't give up and use our skills to investigate and problem solve the current situation that has brought financial distress.
It is not wise to ignore good counsel and to think you can make it all on your own, especially when you believe there is no need to follow the rules that govern the times you are in and the season that you need to go through.
Also, it is our advantage to come to know and respect the One who made us and the waves we get to ride on, God created all and He knows the times that you are in, He understands how the patterns of life operate as He made them and brought them into existence, like rolling out a long time line with all the highs and lows, colour shape and energy levels, it is all there and we can see it, if we look for the truth of reality.
When all of our best attempts fail and hope is lost at in the the great oceans, the sea of mankind and the markets where fortunes are made or lost depending which end of the stick you come out in the deal.
In every trade on the great commodity markets, there is a winner and there is a loser, one has to come out with the right call, the other goes down on the wrong side of the trade.
So in desperation, we reel and stagger and may even look to alcohol or narcotics for some relief in the distress of the times. These chemical solutions can give a temporary high and an escape to numb the pain, but as we know, never can take the problem away.
When you are at your wits end, you have exhausted all known possibilities and tried it all, but no avail, as the wave that hit like a tsunami smashed your financial theory and security to bits and took it down in the ruins of the storm, swept it all away.
What do we do when we have tried all and failed and there just is no other way out?
Sadly, this is the place where many of us finally wake up and go beyond our human inclinations of reason and habit and come back to God who knows all and is there to help us back to true security. Good old human nature, just cant quite help it you say, creatures of habit and sometimes, defiant to the end.
Now at the point of total despair and in the face of annihilation, we begin to cry out to God.
Good move I say - this is the start of a progression towards change and progress towards our next move up the coming new wave.
God can bring you out of your current mess and He will guide you towards what?
Thats right your desires, a desired haven, your deep desires is what you are really looking for in life, for where you really belong and the true vision that you have for your life, we all need the right perspective.
God can bring you there, because that is like a shift from your current perspective, a paradigm shift that will pull you out from all of the known possibilities that just don't cut it and place you in a haven that is secure.
Your real desires are to be fulfilled in life and only God can connect you with that reality and place you where you really were made to belong.
Back up in verse 23, we read that people who do business can see that there are the works of God in all fortunes and outcomes of how the markets and the processes of life have their workings out.
God created sowing and reaping and the resources of the planet and the seasons and times, His wisdom can fathom the depths of all of these workings.
God commands and there are stormy winds, so there are seasons of change, times of still and times of intense movement.
When time runs out for a market or current trend, this is a natural process and we need to be in tune with the process, we can always improve our position and study to know the general principles of up and down movements of the global and local market place.
God lifts the waves, as you know the sea has waves and it would be boring if it was all flat and constant, things would not develop and there would be no progress.
The moon affects the tides and flowing and there are weather patterns that also come into play and we need to be aware of these factors, when we ride a wave or look for the timing of the next wave.
Markets move through a cycle of boom and bust in a kind of chartable fashion, trend patterns, develop like waves and we can track these movements and based on findings from history, make predictions to the future, economic future patterns to some degree.
Here is your true answer to overcoming in troubled times and that is tuning into understanding of the workings of God and receiving new insight to His wonders of the deep workings.
When you tap into the very source and the wisdom of the workings of the underlying principles that govern the economic systems of this world and your eyes are opened to the realm of the wonders of the deep, your whole perspective will shift from despair and hopelessness to a whole new world of possibilities, endless possibilities, as Gods wonders of the deep go a long way and are just that, wonders, as these possibilities are beyond the known limitations of what used to work and the existing theories.
You will enter into revelations that will open up innovations and miraculous provision, where multiplication and the supernatural meets the natural, for an avenue of a glorious city that shines with success.
I know I am talking about unexplored frontiers, but if you don't think these exist you will always dwell with the circumstances and the answers of yesterday, that no longer apply to what is necessary for todays market and the seas of change.
I am inspired to talk about a God kind of turnaround, a suddenly from above, a miraculous ability coming to you that will cause you to ride the storms of life and fill you with new hope for the future, as well as the how to, innovations from heaven to apply to your business venture or your financial position, there is a way out and an answer of deliverance and it is available when you venture into the wonders of the deep, your insight and your understanding will be accelerated to know abundance in times of trouble.
So, lets remember Gods goodness and His wonderful works of creation and that He is the source of all knowledge to help our understanding of the times we are in, God knows all and He sees the future and knows the comings and goings that will affect our overall outcome.
Gods forecast is accurate to perfection, He sees from the beginning to the end, as He is not restricted by time and He knows where we need to be positioned to catch the right wave and not be wiped out, so we need to be in synch with God and He can bring us to the right place at the right time.
The ebbing and movements that will affect our future, when waves come and go and when the storm comes, we will need to be in the right position of favour and be prepared.
When we need to move on and shift from our present situation to catch the next wave, we need to be savvy and make the right moves, we can also, set up a shelter from the coming storms.
It appears that currently, we are in a time of world financial distress, where the dominant currencies are faltering, the financial structures are in for a major shift to adjust and it all is headed for massive change.
We can go to God who knows what is down the track and can see that big wave coming in the distance and guide us to our desired haven, a place of security in times of trouble.
Now how about poverty?
If you don’t have any financial means and are dirt poor, you cant do nothing, you got nothing! It is all about fight for survival, for the next meal ticket, struggling to keep you and the family ticking.
For the Hungry – starving
He Multiplies. God can multiply just like He did with the loaves and fishes – the little you do have Jesus can multiply into an abundance.
Believe it - see it manifest - expect a miracle - don’t doubt - only believe.
He Turns wilderness into pools so that it is transformed, totally changed from lack and bareness to a living flourishing provision.
Again Drylands into watersprings to satisfy the thirst into a true transformation.
Emphasis is that He Blesses them and they multiply.
There is No decrease.
It is not going to be snatched away and if it is stolen from us, it will be restored and multiplied again to abundance.
Psalm 107:39 – 43 -
PSALM 107 is real hope and a promise for these troubled times that we live in.
We can believe in God, for He is a good God and willing that we be delivered and made to prosper.
So even if the turnaround described in Psalm 107 and promises of deliverance from destruction are not always evident and the times are getting rough, I believe that we can put our trust and confidence in the Lord who wants to save all from destruction.
Markets go through seasons of bust and boom, there are always seasons of lack and then abundance, but we need to look towards the true answer for mankind and return to our God and bring a harvest of deliverance in the midst of storms of destruction, it is His will, as we have read in His Word for us and this is for the right now, in these times.
He is waiting for us to cry out and be His people, then He can show favour to us right now on planet earth.
With all markets and trends there are factors that are to be calculated into the prediction of future events,
in the life cycle of civilistions and mankind, we have an important aspect that is part of the equation and that is our human weaknesses and tendency to not follow the right paths to success.
I want to highlight a theme of this article which is found in the text of psalm 107 :-
"they are delivered from their destructions".
We need to see that there is a cause to the destruction that comes our way and it is an inevitable factor that takes place in our future.
As seen in verse 17 - our inclination is to be foolish, sorry I don't want to insult us with this fact, but it is proven that we are not perfect and human history demonstrates our faults.
This folly of human behaviour is described by the actions which are contrary to Gods ways,
called transgressions (when we know what is right and do wrong anyway - like rebellion to authority)
and iniquities (where we are compelled to bad behaviour due to internal inclinations, like a track in our thinking that plays impulsively in response to a situation).
Now that is precisely why God needed a solution as He loves us, He couldn't leave us in that state that leads to destruction, so He sent His Son to save us, because we are incapable of saving ourselves.
In summary and examining some oppressive factors that contribute to our destruction:-
Going back to versus 10-16 we will find that there are 3 types of strongholds that are identified.
I believe many who read this will be set free while reading this article and that a breakthrough will come from oppression and circumstances to all that read this and receive it, the anointing is here right now, just receive it, breathe in the wind from the Spirit of God.
You will see a turnaround that will astound you, as the hand of God moves in your life unrestricted, this may be a process for some and instant for others, either way great freedom will result, so just thank Him for His goodness.
Like magnetism, there are forces at work in nature, fields and patterns that operate and can be observed.
There are opposite poles that repel and attract, like the law of attraction the N-S poles are at work also in our lives.
We either go with one direction or the opposing one, the right way or the wrong way.
Like an electric motor we spin one direction or the other, God can reverse our polarity so that we spin the right way and all of the mechanisms in our life will operate for good.
Otherwise if we are left to our own devices and spin the wrong way, it results in smoke and sparks and an eventual break down of our motor and that is destructive.
We need a turnaround and demonstration of the total miracle working power from God, that brings health and abundant living, lets be wise and choose deliverance from destruction in troubled times.