Don’t panic! Life is crazy right now and it’s tempting to panic. World events have us on the edge of our seats. The news coupled with the anxiety we face in our day-to-day lives can feel overwhelming. Work is tense, school is expensive, inflation is taking a bite out of our already-stretched budgets. Whenever we find the news, either via the internet, radio, or TV, we are bombarded with the latest crisis that has gripped the world. Tensions rise as worst-case scenarios are broadcast to the worried public.
When things get better instead of worse, I get the feeling that the powers that be who govern what news is broadcast, are disappointed. Now, they have to find another crisis to replace the previous one to keep viewers interested. Unfortunately, Christians have fallen prey to this panic-driven hype. Instead of resting in peace, we have succumbed to drinking the Kool-Aid of worry.
God kept us
It may be that because I live in Africa and have lived through difficulty that bad news doesn’t easily affect me.. I remember living in Burundi during the years of civil war. We faced rumors of imminent destruction on a daily basis. We had to learn to live with a cloud of doom hovering over our heads. For example, one afternoon, our son Tommy had a soccer game. Jamie’s parents were visiting from the USA. And in the not-so-far distance, we heard round after round of machine gun fire. From time to time we would stop and listen. We had learned how to judge the distance of the gunfire. The kids kept playing and finished their game.
The crazy thing is that God kept us through those years. One might ask why did you stay under such circumstances. Well, I have learned that running away isn’t always the answer. We had church members flee into neighboring Congo during that period of time. When they finally made their way back to Burundi, almost all of them said, “I wish I would have stayed in Burundi.” Life was harder on the run.
Settled hearts in moments of panic
If we let Him, God will help us settle our hearts in moments of panic. The world is a crazy place. But we have a Father who keeps us even when the world is losing its mind. It doesn’t matter if it is an election year or grenades have been thrown into your yard. Our Father is well able to watch over us. I find it sad that we, who claim to be Christians, are so worried when the world is on edge. We’re on a journey and this world isn’t our final resting place. In fact, this life is just the beginning.
“and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
Ephesians 2:~6-8 NKJV
Knowing that there’s more coming ahead of us than there is behind us, that there are “ages to come” that we will take part in, helps us have perspective. While God cares for us in the here and now, we shouldn’t allow the ups and downs of life take our eyes of the future.
Don’t panic, don’t be afraid
Don’t panic and don’t be afraid. Jesus was right when He said, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Matthew 6:25,26 NKJV
God values His children, He cares for them, He cares for you. Whatever you do, don’t panic and don’t be afraid of what you see/hear in the world news. We don’t live for this world. We only live in it as we make our way to our Heavenly home (see 1 Peter 1:11 and 1 Peter 2:11). This is how we know everything is going to be alright.
