Question:
Bill,
I am VERY concerned about our country. Do you feel God is bringing us to our knees? How will He take care of our needs?
Ellie
Answer:
Ellie,
The direction our nation is going is very dangerous – especially since we are continually forsaking our Christian heritage. The blessings we have received as the greatest nation in the history of the world are about to be removed and judgment seems irreversible. No matter what we face, God will take care of you and prove Himself faithful to those who love Him. I talked to a young mother of two toddlers whose husband had recently died of lung cancer. She said that in the midst of her grief and sadness she has realized how BIG her God is. She praises Him for His blessings in the midst of her pain.
To answer your question I am going to pull back the curtain and give you a glimpse of my reality, hoping to build your faith and encourage you that the God we serve is there and is always faithful. He will never leave us or forsake us. I have directed a faith ministry and many times did not know how the needs would be met. But in some amazing ways they always were. There is no human explanation for how every need has been met for over 30 years and He enabled us to build three ministry centers on faith without a penny of interest being paid. And He has intervened and protected in the midst of some hopeless situations.
I do not own a vehicle and do not own my own house. I have virtually no retirement and will not receive Unemployment or Social Security benefits. In reality, if I walk away from the ministry tomorrow I will be a street person. I have not been wasteful but am a very wise steward. I have chosen to invest most of my resources in a Kingdom that will never pass away. This world is not my home, I am merely passing through and hoping to take as many people with me as I can into His Kingdom. I expect challenges and spiritual warfare but know the end result will always be victory.
Because the God of the Bible has been so faithful in my past, I can trust him with my future.
Throughout most of this ministry I have not had hospitalization on myself or my family. My wife faced cancer by doing alternative treatments which we had to pay for personally. But once again the Lord was faithful and provided through the generosity of friends and family members.
Daily we face challenges and obstacles in life and in this ministry and have a tremendous burden of caring for literally thousands of people worldwide who contact our ministry and are facing economic, physical, and spiritual difficulties and disasters – some being persecuted and eventually martyred. Only the Lord can sustain us with the physical, financial, emotional, and spiritual stresses we face daily. But He sustains by His Word and Spirit so I want to share a few of my life verses that have helped me face in faith the many challenges of this world.
Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”
Psalm 34:4 “I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalm 103:15-18 “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.”
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Philippians 4:6,7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Read Hebrews chapter 11 for encouraging examples of the heroes of faith. If you have not read my book Overcoming the Giants in Your Life, now would be a great time as we seek to get a biblical perspective on faith and what our attitude should be in the midst of perplexing times as we head closer and closer to the Lord’s return.
Yes, the God we serve can be trusted with your life, your future, and your eternal destiny!
Bill
Bill Rudge Ministries 