What to Do When the State of the World Overwhelms You
By Alexis A. Goring
Bible Reading
“I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven.” - Psalm 123:1 (NIV)
Let’s face it: Our world is in complete chaos. But we do have hope! His name is Jesus Christ, and He can help us survive this experience on Earth.
It’s easy to get caught up in all that is wrong with our world today: wars and rumors of wars, division in the Christian church, turmoil in our communities in the USA and throughout the world, bad weather wreaking havoc, political upheaval, as well as personal struggles and the trials we all endure as followers of Jesus Christ. Truthfully, it’s a lot and very overwhelming if that’s our focus.
But the moment we decide to turn our eyes upon Jesus, that is when our perspective begins to change. We remember that planet Earth is not our home. We realize that one day, Jesus will return and usher all His faithful followers into Heaven, where there will be no more pain, sorrow, heartbreak, disappointment, or sin. Heaven is a perfect place, and when we arrive there, we, too, will be perfect. But for now, Earth is our temporary home. God does not expect us to ignore all the problems we have on this planet. Instead, He expects us to serve others as we serve Him. It’s our duty to make this world a better place.
We can do that by focusing on our faith walk with Jesus. When we ask Him to show us what He is doing in this world, we can learn what we can do to partner with Him in driving out the darkness. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the Light of the world (John 8:12), and as Christians, we are a light for Christ (Matthew 5:14). It is important to spend time with God and ask Him how we can share Christ’s light and love with our fellow humans—especially those who don’t know Jesus yet.
William J. Thoms, a British writer, said, “Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads.” Therefore, let’s do our best to love God and all people. Our hope is that they will be drawn to Him and learn how much God loves them. When we share the love of Jesus, it helps to ease their pain as they learn how to look to Christ.
The lyrics to the hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” tell us that when we look to Jesus, all the problems in this world seem to fade away. Our perspective is renewed as we allow His goodness, grace, and mercy to flood our souls, bringing us close to Him and reminding us that this world is not our home.
Several years ago, I was pouring out my heart to Jesus about all the pain in this world and lamenting how it was affecting me. God responded by speaking these words to my heart: “Remember, Earth is temporary, and that means your pain is temporary.” He helped me see that all the trials and tribulations, death and destruction, betrayal and pain… all will be put to a permanent end by Jesus Christ. There is an expiration date to our pain and that date is known as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Only God knows the exact date and time when He will send His Son to take us home (Matthew 24:36).
God wants everyone to know Him and be saved in His Kingdom. Let’s keep working to share His Light and His love with our world today and every day.
There are two songs that helped to inspire this devotional today: “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” by Rachael Lampa and “Turn to Jesus” by Katy Nichole. I encourage you to listen to both, because the lyrics can help us focus on Jesus.
Let’s thank Jesus for being our safe place, our refuge, and our ever-present help in trouble. Let’s look to Jesus and focus on Him so that we are not consumed by all the pain and suffering in this world. Let’s thank the Lord for always being here for us and never leaving us to face life alone.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Have you asked God to show you how you can partner with Him in pushing back the darkness in this world? How does it feel to know that God’s Light and love will win in the end?
Further Reading:
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 13:14
James 1:2-4
Romans 5:1-5
Joshua 1:9
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/AnnaElizabethPhotography
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