It's Dark Out Here!

It's hard to ignore the fact that this world is a very dark place. The constant wars, heartbreaking famine, increasingly common natural disasters and widespread political greed and dishonesty continue to come at us from a myriad of sources.

I vacillate between being glued to the TV, staying informed of the latest breaking news, and being in denial, paying attention only to my own little circle of the world.  I know as Christians we have to stay informed of current events. We must know what we are up against and lean into God for His direction and guidance. He is counting on us to lead others to Him before it's too late as well.

But, it's depressing. It's scary, and it's overwhelming at times. Satan's schemes seem to be winning over God's Truth and Light. How can this be when we know that, in the end, God wins? As children of God, that means we win too!

But God also warns us that "There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

The Bible also warns us that "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." We are now seeing this happen in Israel, Iraq and throughout the world.

I sometimes struggle with depression and feelings of hopelessness when I focus too much on these tragedies. I feel insignificant and unable to make even a small difference in these tragic circumstances. I will continue to struggle with these issues, but I am also able to hold on to the many promises God has given us in His Word.

As I continued reading in 2 Timothy, I came upon Chapter 4, verse 18 which says, "The Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom."

I will continue to follow news and politics to a degree, but I am careful not to saturate myself or my family in it. God is well aware of and predicted thousands of years ago that the world would get darker and darker over time. In some ways, we can actually take courage from it, because it means that the time of Christ's return is nearing!