You cannot work effectively for Christ unless you are willing to take a few risks, and Jesus warned his followers that there would be the risk of encountering serpents.

I think it is significant that the Bible calls Satan “that serpent of old” (Revelation 12:9, NKJV), and Jesus said, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23), but in Ecclesiastes, we are warned: “…whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him” (Ecclesiastes 10:8, KJV).

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ Then Jesus called a little child to him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew 18:1-3, NKJV).

God wants us to know that no matter how difficult things may get for us, he will sustain all who trust in him by the power of his still, small voice, speaking to our inner man daily. This is confirmed by the prophet Isaiah. You have to understand, Isaiah delivered this word to Israel in the very worst of times. The nation was under judgment and in absolute ruin with everything breaking down.

Jesus died on the cross to purchase peace with God for me, and he’s in heaven now to maintain that peace for me and in me. The peace we have with God through Christ distinguishes our faith from all other religions.

The Bible tells us that Jesus makes intercession for us: “Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, NKJV). What do the scriptures mean by this?

Please carefully read Ezekiel 44:15–16; the prophet is referring to a man named Zadok who served as a priest during David’s reign. The Hebrew name Zadok means “right or righteous.” This righteous man never wavered in his faithfulness to David or to the Lord. He stood by the king and by God’s Word through thick and thin. Zadok always remained loyal to David because he knew the king was the Lord’s anointed.

Faith begins with a total abandonment of oneself into God’s care, but our faith must be active, not passive. We must have full confidence that God can and will do the impossible. We see in scripture “Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26, NKJV) and “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

In short, faith always says, “God is enough!”

In Psalm 31, David introduces us to the phrase “the secret of your presence.” He writes, “Oh, how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of your presence from the plots of man; you shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues” (Psalm 31:19-20, NKJV).

When a prophet comes with a message of warning, often people want the prophet to give them specific advice about what to do in response. At times, God gives the prophet a word; but more often, it is up to every man of God to take the word into account for his own family. Just as a pastor has stewardship of the church, a man of God is to give an account of his own family.

We are to listen carefully to the warnings of the watchmen, but we are not to become obsessed with their warnings. We're to gather all the knowledge we can about the coming storm so we can prepare our hearts for whatever destruction it brings.

However, we are not to let fear or anxiety consume our thinking, dominate our minds or take hold of our hearts!