Paul Marcellino is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Camden. Abraham Lincoln once said, "I told God that I had done all I could and that now the result was in His hands; that if this country was to be saved, it was because He so willed it! The burden rolled off my shoulders. My intense anxiety was relieved and in its place came a great trustfulness!"

Many times as I watch the evening news and see the problems that face our president each day I wonder how he is able to deal with the extreme pressures. I wonder what goes on in his mind each night as he closes his exhausted eyes from the difficult decisions made that day. Then in the morning he awakes to a new slate of issues and I wonder how can he pull the covers off and rise each morning to face the challenges.

Many historians would agree that President Lincoln faced the most burdensome problems this nation has incurred. How was he going to restore this torn nation? Families and friends fighting one another and the union that was earlier formed under the statute of freedom was fighting over slavery. No doubt the American Civil War was one of the most tragic events in American history.

Lincoln was able to deal with this war by allowing a much greater power to handle the burden. He did what he could and turned it over to God. He realized his human limitations and recognized God's unlimited power. Abraham Lincoln understood that the only way this war could be resolved was through God's will.

Today many of us face serious situations. Some people face life and death situations at times and others deal with difficult relational or economic issues. People face difficult times and we only fool ourselves if we think we can rely on our own strength.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength, he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Abraham Lincoln even in the darkest days of the Civil War continued to trust in the Lord and through his trust he found peace. We too can have the peace that Lincoln experienced if we trust in God.