Scriptures: Jeremiah 32:27-28, 32:17, 32:21-22, 32:19, 13:23, Exodus 2:23-25, 1 John 5:14-15, Daniel 4:37

It has been both painful and fascinating to watch the reaction of our country to what, by all accounts, are the toughest economic times since the Great Depression. At the time that this message was prepared, the Dow Jones was down over 40% for the year. Routinely we have seen reports of more than 400,000 people losing their jobs each month—the most in 34 years. What has been fascinating is to see how people have responded. Whenever tough times hit us, whether they hit us individually, or as a community, or as a state, or as a nation, we tend to take several looks. Some look back and ask why this happened. Others look within and examine what is our fault. Still others look down and get depressed and complain. None of these, however, is "the right look".

In this message, Dr. Merritt suggests one more look we can take when times are tough that can help us put our lives in perspective of God's greater plan and greater provision.

"There are going to be times when you find yourself in the middle of a dark stormy night. You are going to be drowning in a sea of trouble. You are going to facing mountains so big you don’t see any way over them. The only thing that will keep you afloat and the only thing that will keep you climbing are the promises of God." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: finances, fiscal, depression, recession, tough, times, difficulty, challenges, optimism, hope, help, trust, understanding, God, sovereignty, promises, economy, unemployment, joblessness, eviction, Israel, imprisonment, circumstances