Trepidation: a nervous or fearful feeling of uncertain agitation, or apprehension. i liked this definition too, “reluctantly trembling”. The word carries connotations of disquiet and foreboding about a potential upcoming threat. A 1940 issue of the Circleville Herald, an Ohio newspaper, printed this statement: “A trepidacious Europe today remained tense, worried, fearful, for the outcome of what military men predict will be the greatest battle in the history of the world.” That meant all of Europe was trembling at the thought of conflict and bloodshed. And as we all know, soon to follow was World War II, a war which nearly swept the entire world into calamitous collision, strife, and struggle, not to mention the swirling arduous uncertainties as to everyone’s future. People were inundated with arduous uncertainties!
Tense, worried, fearful, and reluctantly trembling. Most seem to have no understanding of the trembling going on in their hearts, minds, or the ground under their feet. It’s almost as if there’s an incredible number of small earthquakes going on, in the physical, spiritually, and metaphorically.
In fact, physically speaking, according to IRIS, that’s I-R-I-S, an organization which tracks earthquakes as they happen, in 2005, there were, on the average, less than 300 every 30 days. In 2011, there averaged around 350-400 in a 30 day period. in 2013 there were 794 earthquakes of 4.0 magnitude or higher in the earth in only one month alone. To date, in 2025 there are now 1449 earthquakes in December 2025 alone. Yes, that’s just in December.
Baby, there’s a whole lotta’ shakin’ goin’ on, and that’s just speaking of the physical shaking under our feet.
I’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, cool jazz and thought provoking conversation …. tonight’s conversation piece is titled: trepidation nation, or maybe that should be trepidation nations, plural, as in all nations of the earth are presently trembling, all together, for the first time in history.
i hope to not present this topic of ponderance in too much of a political fashion, and i’m saying that so we’ll know this isn’t headed toward getting anyone to vote for anyone other than Jesus Christ.
Stan Reynolds of Sage Point Financial, Inc writes:
“In 1970 America, gold was $35 ounce, gasoline was .20cents/gallon, an average house was $15,000. The total debt was $2 Trillion.
In 2012 America, gold is $1700/ounce, gasoline is $4/gallon, an average home is $170,000. The total debt is $16 Trillion.”
In 2025 America, gold, on the average, is $3435/ounce, and on high days it’s around $4300-$4500/ounce, the average gasoline price was $3.10/gallon, an average house is around $410,000, and the total debt is around $37.6 trillion.”
Mr. Reynolds continued, “Our government went off the gold standard 57 years ago last August. By uncoupling the gold standard from the dollar our government gained enormous flexibility with what it could do with the dollar. BUT, unfortunately, to date, no government of any nation, anywhere on the planet, anytime in history has ever been able to resist the temptation to spend what they do not have through their power over the creation of money. Like everyone else in our nation of trembling, unsure, and nervous people, governments are just people, and like everyone else, they are flawed by selfish desire to get things without paying the full price in pain to get them.”
“In 2012, our country was spending $3.8 trillion/year while only bringing about $2.5 trillion, which means we must borrow $1.3 trillion.”
That was in 2012 and this is 2025, although things have changed for the better for sure, with the concept of “better” being pretty subjective, the idea of spending far more than we take in still exists. And even if the current administration has improved things, we, as individuals are still practicing the same habits which bottomed the nation out in 2008, only with a renewed vigor. It is not “their” fault we, as individuals, are, on the average, terrible money managers. Each of us is choosing and so many are constantly only one pay check away from the street.
Ok, i know this is a lot of numbers, so don’t get lost, go with me on this.
Let me continue to quote Mr. Reynolds, “The ONLY area Congress can budget for contains everything we call government, example: highways, health services, the military, courts, FBI, CIA, etc, etc. The amount they will spend is, honestly beyond my ability to deal with amazingly large numbers. Which means, this year, to make all the functions of government to continue, we must borrow every dollar Congress budgets for.”
“There are only two options to balance the budget at this point, either….1. Shutting down, not just take a break, but shutting down every governmental department from the military to the department of transportation to the FDA!
- OR –
Raise taxes on EVERYBODY by 50%!
Mind you, this program was written in 2012, so keep your shirt on. Continuing on, there is no money left, we spent it all and then borrowed much more than we spent. From 2025 looking forward, the next president, and it doesn’t matter WHO it is, will not be able to get this nation back on track without a lot of pain shared by all.”
Let me add, due to America’s collective unwillingness to embrace such pain, or any pain for that matter, we will get what we are given by those who we wish weren’t in leadership but yet we put them there.”
Now let’s move this into the “now”. We can aim our fingers at government till the cows come home, but the bottom line is each of us must change the way we handle our lives. i don’t know about you, but without Christ, in no way fashion or form, am i smart enough to do life by myself. We need Jesus.
i believe Stan is speaking VERY plainly to something the American
public is VERY blind to, purposely or not. These are facts that are disquieting and may very well be a main ingredient in the shaking ground we all seem to be standing on….
It is virtually impossible to take something away from people once they have been promised it and it’s been given to them for so long. Usually riots and chaos in the streets and in government follow. Maybe printing more money would help but in the long run it just becomes green ink on white paper. i tell ya’, when people realize, i mean really realize they are not safe, almost anything can happen. When the calendar ticked from 1999 to 2000, there were a lot of people who suddenly said, “I don’t feel safe.” i remember thinking, you’ve got to be kidding! You weren’t safe before, and without Christ, your illusion of safety was just that…an illusion.” i heard other people say, “i feel like big brother is listening.” Are they kidding? Big brother was listening all along, the difference is you guys are just now waking up to the realization. And what’s worse, after they found out they were being watched and listened to, by way of tacit approval of the governments actions, people became indifferent as long as they got free food, education, free college and houseing.
How to deal with this in a pragmatic, prayerful, watchful way without being panicky and overly reactive is a good question. It’s easy to quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” God said it, it is absolutely the truth, but i’m pretty certain the “heal their land” part does not mean we’ll all get to live on easy street, dining on sweet things, riding merry go rounds, and dreaming in the moon light. i sincerely doubt God’s idea of restoration means to restore us to our old “let us exclude-God” state of mind and heart. When most people quote that scripture, i believe what they’ve got in mind is to go back to some sunny, whimsical, magic time in their life when they felt all things were good and they were catered to, hoping to devise a way to escape our trouble by getting away on a vacation. What we don’t realize is that even if we went back to that time when “everything was ok”, today, it is all different now. Old friends have moved on, we ourselves are different, roads have changed, businesses have ebbed away into the past and new ones have sprung up, the old home place is long gone, and the farm is now a shopping mall or parking lot. There is no going back.
Let’s look at a simple 10 year window at how things went when we, as a nation, purposely started excluding God, which began around 1960-63. Between 1962 and 1973: Teen pregnancies jumped 400%, sexually transmitted disease jumped 272%, sexually active teens jumped nearly 400%, murder arrest for ages 13-18 up 230%, violent crime in general crept way up over 400%, reported child abuse leapt 330%, and the list goes on and on. Here’s a real zinger, since the introduction of Viagra, sexually transmitted disease among men over 55 has skyrocketed over 600%. That’s right, 600%.
i’m sorry, but without the Lord, that’s where we are, and the same downward trend is to follow. Without the love, protection, and direction of Jesus in our lives, there is no choice for society and all those in it but to spiral downward toward self destruction.
So, here we all sit, feeling apprehensive, arduous uncertainties keep us awake at night, we have a nervous trembling in our hearts, and all around us the world changes moment by moment. There’s this funny tension in everything, have you noticed? It’s like everything and everyone is trembling with either anxiety or expectancy. Like i said, there’s a whole lotta’ shakin’ goin’ on!
So, so many people can’t sleep so they have gone to their doctor and gotten a prescription for a pill, a sleep aide, completely ignoring the side effects. i kid you not, i saw an advertisement from a pharmacy company of some sort the other day, and it said, with calm smoothness, “If you are sleepless, tossing and turning, your anxiety is high, we can help. One pill a day will keep anxiety away.” i thought to myself, you’ve got to be kidding! Don’t deal with your emotions, Heavens no, why would you do that? Just take a pill where you’ll be zipped off to la-la land, never too high, never too low, just always in the middle of calm. You’ll sleep like a child!. Gosh! And how many people think all that’s a good idea? Did they even read the atrocious short-term side effects not to mention the long-term use side effects?
One of the goals of the FDA is to ensure that drugs marketed in this country are safe and effective. But c’mon, have you read those side effects? Oh my gosh! The side effects of so many drugs approved by the FDA, is absolutely terrible, in fact so horrible it’s like a comedy to read the list. If i take medication which causes me to bleed through my skin, from my position that is so VERY not safe, and often, the horrible side effects seem to far outweigh the effectiveness. Yet the over watch governmental agency has approved it as safe and effective. Safe according to who? Their profit margin?
Many have such daily anxiety over everything, they are literally trembling inside, to the point of taking drugs to reduce their anxiety and depression with such longevity, they now are dependent on those drugs to make them somewhat functional in society. We are trepidacious over going to the store, leaving the house, walking in public, being noticed and not being noticed. We have an uncertain agitation about our finances or the lack thereof. It is incredible the number of people who are apprehensive over any close relationships because of what someone might know about them. This is going on, on a national scale. Don’t believe me? Do your own survey, really listen to the people you interview and you’ll begin to hear the thread.
Hebrews 12:26-27 “ … this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern. This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain”
But in the middle of all the shaking going on, in the middle of all our internal trembling, arduous uncertainties, and apprehensions we need to hold on to Colossians 3:1-3, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Is it possible so many in our nation are trembling in the foundations of their hearts because, as a whole, we no longer listen to or trust in God? Is people’s disquiet and apprehension due to their general unbelief? Do we not actually believe God is who He says He is and we’re sort of satisfied to keep living in tourist-type Christianity? Satisfied to merely walk on the beach looking for interesting things but never going out in the water? At what point will we, as a whole, turn our eyes to Jesus? You know, we don’t have to wait until the sky is falling to turn and embrace the Lord.
Most folks sort of skip over the book of Daniel. It’s literal and metaphorical, it’s very pointed and speaks a bit cryptically at the same time. Most don’t seem to understand it, including myself concerning parts of it, so we all do what we usually do when we don’t understand, we smile, move away, and keep silent.
But, on the long shot no one will be inclined to close their ears, let me read what is for many people, a very uncomfortable scripture: Daniel 12:1-3, “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.”
Hmmmm … do you believe we are in the last days? And don’t listen to manipulative people who have changed the definition of important words in order to make old prophecies fit their agenda. How do we stop the apprehension and trembling in our hearts? We need to stop the bleeding.
The 12th chapter, vs. 1-3 of Daniel basically says that God’s people are to let their testimonies shine before men, and they are to lead people to Christ in the last days. He went on to say in vs. 10, “Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand”.
In the last days, evil people will continue to act with evil and to live in darkness. But God’s people will understand what’s really going on. God’s people will not live in fear and confusion, but will have wisdom and insight on how to live in a world filled with turmoil and change. We are to have a close relationship with God and do great things in His Name. It’s not enough to simply be near Jesus, we’re supposed be knowing Him in a relationship, a full blown, everyday walk around relationship. Dan 12:12a says “blessed is he who waits”.
Focus on the Lord, set your eyes upon Him. Psalm 123:2 “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He comes and has mercy on us.” Strength will come when we wait upon the Lord!
In Titus 2:12-14, Paul tells us we should, “live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
There it is, Jesus is how we stop the trembling in our hearts and minds. He alone is the stay and stanchion, He is our hope. Jesus alone, Jesus alone, and there us not another. Think about it.
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Thank you for joining me here at Outposts, a fine establishment by the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge and every evening is pleasant. i’m Social Porter and this program has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Area 22 Guitars, Miss Jackson at the
De-Luxe Beauty Shop, Frank Edney at the Hot Spot Cafe’, Bruce and Mildred Harrell over on Fleming Street, the amazing Paul Powers, and of course, our greatly beloved Jeff and Karen at Trinity Bakers where there’s always something good in the oven.
Music was by Bill Bruford, and Jazz for a Rainy Day.
Don’t let our trepidatious nation get to you. It’s not an accident these things are happening. None, i repeat none of the present day, arduous uncertainties are happen stance. The Lord has pointed to these days from long, long ago, so let’s not be surprised. Jesus is our fountain and foundation, not the structures nor designs of men. He is supreme, superseding “all things” – He is holy and righteous above all nouns, all pronouns, all adjectives, all cases and numbers, all forms of manners, methods and times and seasons, above all titles, positions, and platforms. Prov 8:22-31. He is the appointed one, the radiance of Glory, the representation of God’s person, He is all things by the power of His Word, He provides purification from sin, and sits at the right hand of the Father and the Holy Spirit in absolute governance of the universe. All things.
He, Jesus, is our starting and stopping point, every time, without fail, it is Jesus, and there is not another. Cling to Him and Him alone, not your friends, not your job, not your pastor, or your ideals, but to Jesus. Rest assured He knows exactly what to do and that is exactly what He will do. Let’s count on it with all our heart. What a super idea, huh?
Until we meet again, be blessed and wise. Amen!