No human creature ever entered an desert oasis without joy, nor left it without regret.”
              –Zane Grey  (Wanderer of the Wasteland)

    “Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.”
              –Matthew 5:6 (AMP)
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In this time of trial, take time to taste some of the Lord’s goodness.  When I was reading for this part of Psalm 36, the following chorus came to me.

         “Drinking at the springs of living water,
          Happy now am I,
          My soul they satisfy;
          Drinking at the springs of living water,
          O wonderful and bountiful supply.”
                   –John W. Peterson

Let’s take a look at the rest of Psalm 36, from the Holman version.  Let the verses refresh your soul, mind, and spirit.

    7 – God, Your faithful love is so valuable that people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
    8 – They are filled from the abundance of Your house; You let them drink from Your refreshing stream,
    9 – for with You is life’s fountain.  In Your light we will see light.

In these perilous times; these times of unrest and uncertainty, we should enjoy the “refreshing stream.”  The NIV puts it this way, “rivers of delight.”  People are trying to do this or that; they are trying to find things to do at home.  Why not turn to God’s “refreshing stream”?  Instead of binge television, or binge movie watching, or binge eating, why not a “binge” of reading and studying God’s Word?  Ahhh, the water is so refreshing.

    10 – Spread Your faithful love over those who know You, and Your righteousness over the upright in heart.
    11 – Do not let the foot of the arrogant man come near me or the hand of the wicked one drive me away.
    12 -There the evildoers fall; they have been thrown down and cannot rise.

Look how high the love of God reaches.  His love, His faithfulness, His righteousness is unlimited.  Think about Him and what He has done for man.
    God is there to sustain us.  He is our refuge, food, drink, life, and light.  He will be there if we should fall to pick us up.  We are not like the wicked who are “thrown down and cannot rise.”

         “I head the voice of Jesus say, ‘Behold I freely give
          The living water; thirst one, stoop down, and drink, and live.’
          I came to Jesus and I drank of that life-giving stream;
          My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him.”
                   –Horatius Bonar

Wishing won’t make any difference.  Trouble is part of living.”
                –Rod Collins  (Bitter’s Run)

    “If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
                –John 14:3 (NASB)
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Got hope?  Or are you running around like a chicken with its head cut off, moaning your plight and wringing your hands in despair.  One way to help cure those feelings of despair is to feed hope within you and you do it by singing the praises of God, meditating on His Word, and contemplating the hope that Christ has given you.

         “Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
          Sing His mercy and His grace;
          In the mansions bright and blessed,
          He’ll prepared for us a place.”
                 –Eliza E. Hewitt

What is looming over you?  What kinds of dark clouds are hovering over your head?  Throughout life we will see many different kinds of storms.  Some may get us a good soaking, some may only threaten.  Right now there is the cloud of a virus with lightning flashes of fear and anxiety.  The thunder rolls with dread.  There are choices that could be made and the person of faith makes the one that they will continue along the “pilgrim pathway.”

         “While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
          Clouds will overspread the sky;
          But when traveling days are over,
          Not a shadow, not a sigh.”

Our duty, our response when the clouds arise is to continue to be obedient and faithful.  We don’t run back to the city of doom, or a place of seeming comfort.  No, we continue in the faith.  We trust Christ at every bend in the road, at every change in the weather.  The winds may assail, but trust never falters.  Don’t worry about what the clouds may bring.  Don’t worry about how hard it is along the way.  One day soon, it will be worth it all.

         “Let us then be true and faithful,
          Trusting, serving ev’ry day;
          Just one glimpse of Him in glory
          Will the toils of life repay.”

So onward we go.  Sometimes we run, and at other times we plod, but always onward and upward.  Hope?  It is right there in front of us.  Keep going, keep reaching out, keep persevering.

         “Onward to the prize before us!
          Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
          Soon the pearly gates will open,
          We shall tread the streets of gold.

                   When we all get to heaven,
                   What a day of rejoicing that will be!
                   When we all see Jesus,
                   We’ll sing and shout the victory.”

Therefore, in this crazy, sick, confused, miserable world we continue on, bearing whatever difficulties that come our way.  Living, and possibly dying, with the calamities and pestilences that come against us, there will be that day of rejoicing and shouting the victory.

A man needed a plan, he needed direction.  If he did not have that, he had nothing.  A man, like a ship at sea, might change course many times in getting to an eventual destination, but he must always be going somewhere, not simply drifting.”
                 –Louis L’Amour  (The Key-Lock Man)

    “How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?  After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard.”
                 –Hebrews 2:3 (NASB)
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A good friend of mine mentioned the urgency he heard preached in a sermon by David Wilkerson.  I responded that I don’t think I ever heard or read anything by David Wilkerson where he thought it wasn’t urgent.  He lived and preached in the urgency of the hour.  He would not allow complacency to dwell in his life; in fact, how can it be allowed in the life of a Christian?
    My thoughts then began to ponder the words of Jesus.

         “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.”
                   –John 9:4 (NASB)

Possibly several meanings could be derived from this.  The first is that we must work during the day.  There is no light at night, plus the night is for rest.  The second is brought forth by Merrill C. Tenny, “Jesus worked under the shadow of the coming cross.”  He had only a short time to fulfill His work on earth.  The cross always loomed before Him, and once He was on that cross He would see and feel darkness cover and enter Him.
    Life is short and we need to put away complacency and take thought of time before our time on earth has ended.  Remember, the tension and fear that you felt when watching the Lord of the Rings when the “riders” were seeking the Ring?  Darkness and gloom were beginning to spread.  Look at the news, if you dare, darkness and gloom are beginning to cover the earth. Never has there been a time such as this.  The night is coming.
    Notice the first three words, “we must work.”  Now is the day of salvation.  Work before it is too late.  William Barclay writes, “The Christian’s duty is to fill the time he has–and no man knows how much that will be–with the service of God and of his fellow-man.  There is no more poignant sorrow than the tragic discovery that it is too late to do something which he might have done.”  Don’t be caught in the darkness of it is too late to repent.  Do it now before the darkness is allowed to overtake the earth.  Do it now before the day of His glorious appearing.
    There is no doubt about it, after the Lord comes for those sealed by the Holy Spirit darkness will cover the earth.  Afraid of the coronavirus, there will be outbreaks of pestilence that the world has never seen before.  The man of lawlessness will rule the earth and all manner of evil will run amuck.
    “Night is coming,” work while it is light.  Grow in grace, use the time wisely, seek the will of the Lord in all you do.  Be sensible, be sober, be alert.  “The one thing vital is that you persist.  The one great treachery is to despair.” (George H. Morrison)

A man can always try to run from things he doesn’t like to remember, but I’ve never heard of it working out.”
              –Luke Short (The Whip)

    “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.  Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”
              –Philippians 4:12(NKJV)
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Hope, where has hope gone?  People have gone crazy, running around in a panic; just being plain stupid.  Christians have not been immune from this.  Where is their hope?  Folks, if you do not know Christ, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
    Look at the rider of the third horse–the one on the black horse.  He holds scales in his hands.  Economic crisis! This has been going on, especially in Europe, but what will things be like as a result of this current virus?  The whiners will whine even more, their cries will rise in a crescendo.  College students will continue to bemoan the fact that they owe money on loans they knew they would have to repay.  The clamor for socialism will continue from moronic lips.  Somewhere in the midst of the economic chaos will come a man bringing a false hope–the Antichrist.
    The pale horse–ridden by Death.  Look at his power, and if you’re not a believer, look and tremble.

       “I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.”
               –Revelation 6:8 (NASB)

Sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts will take the lives of a fourth of the world’s population.  People would still look to that pseudo-hope–the Antichrist.
    Listen, today is the day of salvation.  Today, is the day of hope.  Accept Christ now, or face worse turmoil and chaos than you’ve ever seen before.
    In these frustrating times be people of faith.  That does not mean you are foolish, but neither do you walk and cower in fear.  This virus is not sent by God, but He can use it to get your attention.  In these perilous times:

         “Instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”
               –Titus 2:12-13 (NASB)