As we sat on the couch this week, our twelve-year-old, Mimi, looked up from her phone and asked, “Dad, are we going to have world war III?”
She was looking at my face, trying to find assurance that everything is going to be O.K. She had been looking at the comments from her friends on the news feed on her phone that were escalating a rhetoric of war, she wanted to know what was true. Not long after this our nineteen-year-old son asked about how the draft works and made statements about not wanting to die on a battlefield. The mood was tense and thick with concern as we watched the news and thought about how this might affect family members and friends who are in the military. I felt fear was crouching at our doorstep, waiting to pounce on us and bring worry, anxiety, depression and a lack of sleep.
As I started to respond to my kid’s questions about this situation, the usual rational lines of thinking about how far away this trouble is and putting our trust in leaders who know more than we do seemed hollow and insufficient. I thought in that moment, where does my hope come from? I realize I have no control over these circumstances in our world, but I do get to dictate how I will respond. I am choosing to respond by putting my hope in something that will not fail.
At that moment, a Bible verse came to my mind – undoubtedly highlighted mentally by the Holy Spirit who lives inside me…
Psalm 20:7 (NIV)
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
I began to pray the following to Jesus:
- That I trust in Him.
- That He will move the hearts of leaders and nations.
- For peace and for no loss of life.
- For Him to give me the right things to say to my kids, to point them to trust in our God instead of reason, leaders or what we presumed would happen.
As I invited the Lord to do a work in me, the words were easier to find, and my faith was put on display as I shared that I am refusing to be anxious or let the enemy of our soul steal our hope, confidence or joy.
Giving the Burden to the Lord
When we choose to transfer our trust back to the Lord for his protection, provision, and preferred future – the burden comes off our shoulders and we get to live as sons and daughters who trust our heavenly Father. In Philippians 4 Paul instructs us to ditch our anxiety by going to God in prayer, thanking him in advance for how he will answer. Ultimately Paul is inviting us into the prayer of faith – expecting God to move and come through before we see the evidence on earth that He has begun working.
Have the recent events in the Middle East caused some fear in you as well?
As soon as you begin feeling that initial feeling of dread, worry or uncertainty – pray as quickly as possible. When we take our burdens to the throne of God, he carries them for us, and begins to remind us of his love and faithfulness to us (1 Pet. 5:7). When we choose to set our minds on things above, and keep our gaze on Jesus, and just a quick glance at what’s happening around us, we live like those who are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, with every spiritual blessing already in hand (Eph. 1:3 & 2:6). What we focus on becomes larger and larger in us, so if all you are doing is rehearsing what’s happening in the world, you will find your anxiety and fear being fed by having your gaze here on earth.
As those who are God’s sons and daughters we are not to live like victims or slaves that can’t ask our Master to intervene in the world. We are invited to approach his throne of grace boldly letting our requests be known (Heb. 4:16).
So, let us refuse to live in fear, and be quick to pray with our eyes on Jesus, the only one who we can truly trust for the days ahead!
