Many literary scholars choose this as one of the greatest opening sentences, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." That, of course, from the pen of Charles Dickens in his book, 'A Tale of Two Cities', published in 1859. Sounds like that could apply to this day,
Tuesday, February 17, 2026, don't you think? We do live in what seems to be tumultuous times. Our senior pastor often says it this way, "The real surprise is that we are surprised." The Prophet expressed it this way,
Jeremiah 17:9 ~ "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Sounds pretty hopeless, right? I will say this about it, without God, my friend, it is just that: Hopeless! With Him in our lives we can make it and we can, with His help through the work of the Holy Spirit, live in a way that brings honor and glory to Him. Yep. Things out there in the world, which is, by the way, where we live, they can look very messed up at times. For those who have put their faith and trust in the provision made for us on The Cross, we can live knowing God is in control and while we may not understand, we can, like Paw Paw Mac and countless others, live even during dark days with this guaranteed promise from God Himself, Romans 8:28, from the Amplified Bible, "And
we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about
us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those
who love God, to those who are called according to His plan
and purpose.
" Amen and Amen.
I hope you didn't choke on your Frosted Flakes while reading that first paragraph. I'm not altogether sure where all that came from, but, there are times when I just have to say, it is what it is. I do know this. I have seen with my own eyes how my folks, my mom, my grandparents, and, many other family members as they leaned on the only thing they had left at the time, their faith in their God. There is another song that was often referred to in our family, and, I add, as a family we have faced and lived through many tragedies. We have. We really have. Back to that other song:
I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
Music and lyrics by Ira Stamphill, (1950)
I don't know about tomorrow;
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine
For its skies may turn to grey.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said.
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what lies ahead.
Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.
Every step is getting brighter
As the golden stairs I climb;
Every burden's getting lighter,
Every cloud is silver-lined.
There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eye;
At the ending of the rainbow
Where the mountains touch the sky.
Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.
I don't know about tomorrow;
It may bring me poverty.
But the one who feeds the sparrow,
Is the one who stands by me.
And the path that is my portion
May be through the flame or flood;
But His presence goes before me
And I'm covered with His blood.
Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.
Trust me, that is a great testimony song and its lyrics have often spoken to my
heart and even as I read through them today, they still speak to me.
Never heard it before? Look it up on YouTube by dozens of different
artists, it will do you good. It will. It really will. Amen.
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