Weathering Life

Life is not and never will be entirely trouble-free, sooner or later, adversity is bound to show up. Whether we’re stepping outside of our front door, looking out the window, or watching the evening news, we will eventually witness firsthand, see or hear reports of various types of social injustices as our world continues it’s slow yet steady moral decay. The world is progressively evolving into a very different place where we glorify our social ineptness by creatively concentrating on producing entertainment out of our own natural dysfunctions. It has become all but impossible to decipher fact from fiction through the blurred lines and dirty lenses of reality television where on demand we can tune into home invasions, rapes, and robberies, human trafficking, molestation, and murder all in the form of entertainment.  While there are a handful of positive messages blended between the muck and mar they go largely unnoticed playing more like commercials for a vacation spot in utopia.

So goes life from matrimony to mayhem and although violence is nothing new, it is intensifying and it is not just our imagination. Jesus Himself predicted worldwide troubles until He comes again, He also gave us reassurance that we would be just fine. “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” (Matthew 24:6- 7). His words continue to ring true every day.

The world has a way of magnifying trouble to make any problem appear to be a negative and hopeless situation, to the point that we begin feeling defeated. Especially when the problem moves closer to home, perhaps even knocking on the front door of your life in the form of illness you have been wrestling with and it takes a turn for the worse. Other times, you are blindsided by the trouble that pops up seemingly out of nowhere, a divorce, financial concerns, a wayward child, and even death. Often times the situation can look so bleak, you feel overwhelmed and ready to give up. You realize peace of mind is like that Utopian reality show far from you, leaving you feeling disheartened not knowing what to do to fix the problem.

When the storms of life are threatening, rest assured that God can handle the situation if you trust Him. There was a time when Jesus and His disciples were on a ship when a storm arose and they feared they would sink, but He spoke to the situation. “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, peacefully sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:37-40).

When we believe the word of God instead of what we see and hear in the world, we begin to feel a great peace settling in us and around us. God’s Word is the wisdom and ultimate truth that doesn’t change, and listening to these words brings stability and calm. “…but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” (Proverbs 1:33). Taking the promises of God to heart will eventually have outward manifestations. Others will look at us and wonder how we can remain unmoved, so stable, so composed in the midst of the world’s turmoil.

Even today more than two thousand years later, He continues to bring peace to those who trust Him. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27).  Jesus is undoubtedly the Master when it comes to escorting peace into any situation no matter what it may be. He has the resources and can give us His peace the kind the world will never be able to supply. But, first we must trust Him and refuse to allow fear to rob us of His perfect peace He so freely and willingly provides to those who have faith and trust in Him.  1 Peter 5:7 says that we should “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

God’s Peace!