“Be still and know that I am God”, is what the Psalmist says,

As the torrential rain pelts down, saturating all in town,

In other places, the cracked and parched dam beds lay dry,

Our land is a tough, unyielding expanse, where cattle and sheep die,

The topsoil during many a drought has all blown away,

The states from the far north, down the coast and to the far west tell,

Of landscapes scared by bushfires, and towns that have not fared well.

Away from the city bustle, natures anguish shows,

When storms and disasters pass, a quietness settles over the plains

The earth, as an aged and wrinkled old man, is bowed low in strain.

The Psalmist addresses confidently, bringing mighty words,

To all who suffer pain, discomfort, stress, and wherever things go bad,

He says though all around is in turmoil, take heart and do not be sad,

Do not be afraid for God Almighty, a fortress has made for you in love,

A life-giving stream runs through the city of God,

Prepared for you above,

His house, a safe place - a community for all who recognise His grace,

Who look to Jesus, His only Son, and know the pain for you He faced,

While chaos is all around and despair and anger seek to squash,

The hopes and dreams of all the folk, who so very much have lost,

Homes, possessions, family and friends, their livelihood too,

There is one place that we can go,

To be secure and hope and faith renew,

Stop, be still!

Open the ears of your heart,

Know that God is true,

He has not forgotten the world that He made,

Including you,

God gets your situation,

God gets where you are at,

God knows your frustration,

God knows your desperation,

Just STOP and be still,

Let Him in and chill,

God listens to your prayers,

He hears what you say,

He did not dictate what is happening to you,

That is not His way,

He created you for eternity,

In relationship with Him to stay,

You can trust in Him,

He is with you,

And He will never go away!

He sent Jesus to your rescue,

Your sins are taken away.

When we look to Jesus and seek to know Him, He will draw near to us. As we learn about Him by hearing about Him from the eye-witness accounts of His life on earth and get to know what he did, our heart is changed. The more we invite Him into our life, that is give Him permission to be with us, we will experience the peace which brings us understanding of ourselves and others. God gives us help to navigate through life. We learn to live under his grace (unmerited favour) and our attitude towards others is more and more guided by love for others and love for God. That does not mean that negative things do not happen to us, but we deal with them differently, and receive the power to approach issues with new strength and insight and with God’s favour upon us.

For the first 120 years of settlement in Australia, we lived in a society that was based on the values and beliefs of Christianity. This basically meant, that people understood the importance of helping and caring for one another in the wider community. Most people were church attenders, and many had come to Australia to find freedom from religious persecution or to have a life free from political or social persecution. It has been only over the last 30 years that we have seen a deterioration in behaviour in society generally, as people have wandered away from Christianity. We are no longer identified as a Christian country.

Today the following article appeared in the Sunday Mail (Page 57, June 14, 2020) written by Peta Credlin entitled, “Facing what is lost – Forgetting Christian values and history leaves us vulnerable”.