The National Emergency Broadcasting system test went off with…well, a number of hitches! Some people had to listen to Lady Gaga sing, while others heard only mumbo jumbo (no, they aren’t the same thing), and then there were those who never heard anything at all. Yes, there were glitches but that’s what testing is for! If the Emergency Broadcast Signal was sent out due to a real emergency I imagine most of us would jump to action and get the word to everyone!

My friends, there is a crisis going on right now. Our Lord is sending out daily Emergency Broadcasts but most of us are tuning out. I’m not talking about the national debt, the housing debacle or the unemployment disaster. As serious as these challenges are, they’re bumps in the road compared to a far more deadly crisis. It’s our warped view of God that has led to a crisis of faith and this crisis of faith is at the root of every other crisis we face.

How?

It takes faith to refuse to go into debt and trust God to provide when the funds aren’t there.

It takes faith to stand against the giants; faith in a God who is more powerful than our strongest enemy; faith in a God whose plan is better than ours.

It takes faith to follow His plan, regardless of the cost and inconvenience; faith that trusts in God’s sovereignty even when all seems hopeless.

Faith empowers us to give more than we receive because we trust God will provide.

Faith gives courage to stand up for what is holy and right because we trust in a Holy and Righteous God. (I wish the men who knew about the Penn State coach abusing a little boy would’ve had that kind of faith.)

Faith cultivates a love that befuddles the world because it’s birthed from God’s love; a love that is unconditional and uncompromising.

This may surprise you, but I don’t think the answer to God’s Emergency Broadcast is to strive for more faith. If faith is our goal we will fail. The solution is to seek to know God better every day. Faith is all about trust.

You and I can’t trust someone we don’t know. The more we know God, the more we will trust Him and the more our actions will reflect our faith. The more our actions reflect our faith, the more hope there is for our children and the country we call home.