Don’t Panic! Remember
who is actually in charge

It is hard not to look at all that is going on in the world today without a sense of dread and worry about where this is all heading. Where is God in all this madness? 

The very values of the West are under assault from both without and within. These values are firmly based on Judean-Christian beliefs, and the laws that have been crafted over the centuries that are formed from these beliefs. We see wars and hear rumours of other wars as promised by Jesus, as captured in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew: 

And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come (Matthew 24:6-8, NLT]

It is super important now, more than ever, that we are discerning and take things to the Lord in prayer. We live in the information age, and much of this information is curated, processed, reworked and is designed to influence what you think and feel. I promise you much of what we think is true isn’t and we are all reduced to being a “product,” where our attention, our interaction with social media content and our vote is the target.
 
I have managed to find peace recently in all of this. We love and follow a sovereign God and are joint heirs to his promises through the work Jesus did for us on the Cross. This was not a symbolic victory but a real one, and God is not sat idly by but is engaged bringing about his plans and purposes for this world.
 
Paul penned the following to the Church of Ephesus: 

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm (Ephesians 6:12-13, NLT)

Jesus tells us not to panic in Matthew 24 and Paul tells us to put on the Armour of God to resist the enemy in this verse in Ephesians.
 
I think when we see awful things happening, we may feel God has abandoned us or has not noticed. AW Tozer said it beautifully in his book The Pursuit of God - “God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which he must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.”
 
God has it all under control. He sees the hurt and injustice, along with the lies and the scheming of the ungodly. He is fully engaged, and His hand is on all things. We just need to sit faithfully, watch, pray and be obedient when he calls.
 
Let me leave you with a section from Psalm 37: 

Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone. The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity. The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance. But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming. The wicked draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right. But their swords will stab their own hearts, and their bows will be broken (Psalm 37:10-15, NLT)