Hope and cheer resident in our recent holiday celebrations seemed somewhat tempered by universal instability. There’s terrorism, home and abroad, and bi-polar politics – if the polls are right our choices will be “pick your poison” (the Liar or the Lunatic?). Racial unrest is piqued by some questionable law enforcement actions. We’re in a time of hyper-sensitivity to “offense” (as taken, not intended) and rules change to bridle the tongue and redefine “normal” far afield of the Bible’s standard. Our teeth are set on edge, for indeed, there is very little perceptible “peace on Earth.”
Add to these global problems individual concerns. My own issues seem gargantuan to me, but many of you could compete and win an “Oh, that’s nothing…” contest. Cancer, death of loved ones, unemployment, relational rejection, and familial turmoil are just a few of the burdens we bear – all potentially exacerbated by the holidays.
For the social media savvy, it gets worse. While we’re knee-deep in our own suffering, we look at our friends’ Utopian lives. We see vacations to far-off places and milestones for all their “awesome” family, and photos of the party to which we weren’t invited. Their studio-quality “selfies” make them seem only minutes older than “back then,” where our own make us look like Alfred Hitchcock in bad lighting. Ugh.
Sharing good things isn’t wrong, but the comparison of our real struggles with their faux perfection can lead to despair. Their façade may just belie difficulties far worse than our own, and while no one wants Eeyore for a Facebook friend, consider for all of us – are we presenting a Shangri-La life online, when our reality feels more like nuclear winter?
Even a biblical Christian will admit that life at times seems like a dumpster fire, or like a spin in the back of a cement mixer filled with rocks. We all have scars aplenty, and many have all-too-fresh wounds to our souls.
I’ve painted a pretty pitiful picture, no? Chicken Little, sound the alarm!
Not so fast. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b) While no statement in the Bible is said in a contextual vacuum, Jesus’ statement as quoted can be more broadly applied in truth to all believers as is borne out in statements by Peter (1 Peter 4:12-14), James (James 1:2-4) and others. “Don’t be surprised,” “Count it all joy,” are their declaration to believers about the trials of life and faith and the good that will result.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) We can and should pray for desired temporal outcomes – healing of bodies and relationships, employment and finances, etc. That said, given this verse in Romans, our “peace” here is not dependent on the absence of trials…but reflective of our perspective in the midst of them.
Insert here Ted Turner’s “crutch” accusation or Marx’s “opiate” comparison. Indeed, naïve escapism and denial is unhelpful (e.g., Mary Baker Eddy’s Christian Science). That said, pitiable is the truly broken soul who pretends no need for support and finds no eternal hope past the pain resident in everyday life.
The God of the Bible is not caught off guard by your turmoil or the lunacy that is the world. You can rest in a sovereign God who will somehow bring good from “all things” for those who love Him. I write to myself and to you – peace, believer, the sky is not falling.