Trusting in God when the World Goes Crazy

So, the world's in a bit of a muddle right now, in case you haven't noticed. 

At the time I'm writing this, Russia has invaded Ukraine. This is one of the first acts of outright war that I've seen in my (admittedly quite short) life so far, and it's leaving me and my friends and family shaken. And it just seems like the cherry on top of what's been an absolute roller coaster of the past few years—the Covid-19 pandemic is obviously prominent in everybody's minds, but there have been an unprecedentedly large number of personal crises in my own life, too. 

And I'm not alone. So many of us right now are wondering: what do we do? Why is this happening? Where is our stability? We've seen events that shook the globe, and events that have shaken our lives just as surely. 

So, how are we to respond? 

 

First of all, I'd like to mention what sets Christians apart. Christians believe that the God who made the world is utterly and completely sovereign over all the happenings of the world, and more than that—that he's good. As a result of this, Christians are marked by an uncommon love for one another, and also by an uncommon peace. 

What does this mean? Well, one practical application is that we don't really need to worry about the situation overseas. Yes, we should be concerned for the Russian and Ukrainian people, and we certainly should pray for them and aid where we can—but we're freed from the burden of stress, anxiety, and worry. 

God has not given us a spirit of fear. He has given us a spirit of power, and what that looks like in the life of a believer is a marked, eternal, uncommon peace. 

Whether you know it or not, that spirit of power is inside of you, if you're truly a believer in Christ. Jesus promised to send us a helper, and he keeps his word; therefore, the Holy Spirit is going to come. Isn't that amazing? We have the Holy Spirit—God himself—living inside of our hearts. And, what's more: he's promised to give us peace, even when it seems like the world around us is crumbling. 

Doesn't political anxiety fade when we remember that?

Of course, it's not easy. Just like any work of the Spirit in us, it's going to take time, and a lot of it. Sanctification doesn't happen overnight. 

But sanctification does happen. Just because it takes a lifetime doesn't mean that you've got no hope at all; God loves his children, and he's going to make us grow. Little by little, we shift from trusting in ourselves to trusting in the Lord, and that's when the uncommon peace starts to set in. 

So, what are some ways we can do that? 

First of all, we need to throw ourselves fully into the arms of our Father. It doesn't matter if you think you're too dirty for him to carry, or that you're old enough to walk by yourself now—trust me, you aren't. Even the most mature Christians I've had the privilege of knowing aren't that strong, and they're the ones most aware of how dirty they really are. 

Your Father is stronger than you. He's our maker, our sustainer, and our great lover, and he's got way more wisdom than all the philosophers on Earth combined. So much that the two are incomparable; it's like saying that the star Betelgeuse is larger than a single atom of the wood on my desk. And really, the gap is far, far larger than that. 

So why should Christians hesitate to give all their cares on the Lord? He can handle them. He could fix them, too, if that was his will.

Secondly, we need to pray. This one ties in to the last point; prayer is how we connect with our Father, and how we tell him what those cares are. God wants for us to talk to him, and it's a Biblical command—Jesus even tells us what our prayers are supposed to look like in Matthew 6:9-13. 

I've found that during times of stress and confusion, prayer is the only thing that practically helps me. It's a way to remind yourself that you're not in control, that you don't need to worry about what's going on, and that the person who is in control is the most competent, powerful, and good Person in the universe. It's sometimes unbelievable how much talking to God will quiet your mind.

Prayer is where we gain that uncommon eternal peace. Prayer is what makes us stand out from the crowd, what shows unbelievers that something about us is different. And in times of suffering, prayer is a way to draw us closer to God. 

 

So when you hear the news tomorrow, whatever it brings, remember that God is the one who orchestrated this. Don't be afraid to talk to him about what's burdening your heart. He will carry those burdens, because he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows. 

And he loves us.